The Soundtrack Collaboration
by Skyress8619
Summary: Summary in first chapter. Rated T for possible graphical violence and blood.
1. Beginning Author's Note

**Skyress8619 has logged in. **

**Skyress8619: Greetings, readers, and welcome to the Soundtrack Collaboration. Before you all start to create confused noises, and that includes the Elgang, allow me to explain. **

**Elgang: …**

**Skyress8619: The Soundtrack Collaboration is a collection of stories that I composed from listening to the soundtrack of Elsword. I listen to the music (or at least play it in my head if I am writing during class) and I generate a scene, taking into consideration how the story has progressed, who has joined the Elgang and where the music plays. I then write and post. **

**Skyress8619: This story is going to be a huge piece of work, but I will be combining some. For example, both pieces for Elesis' story will be combined into one chapter, and so will the two pieces for Halls of Water. **

**Skyress8619: Some pieces also play in more than one occasion. In this case, all instances will be combined into one chapter. For example, the music of Temple of Trials also plays in the second half of Magmanta's Cave. I will write scenes for both dungeons. This also applies to boss battles. **

**Skyress8619: If you are wondering, I will be using every single piece of music that is in Elsword, including soundtracks exclusive to KR Elsword (before they come to NA). This also means I will be writing about the pieces used in the Sparring Room, Free Training and the Character Selection screen, which is mainly there to challenge my imagination and also for your entertainment. Music used for event dungeons will not be used, and unused soundtracks are likely not used, but I may write about them depending on my time availability. **

**Skyress8619: The reason why I am putting up a big Author's Note as the first chapter of this story is because I will be writing multiple chapters at a time, and I do not know which one will be the first to completion. Also, these chapters will be raw to speed up the update time, but as a result there may be errors in grammar and such. **

**Skyress8619: I will name the chapters according to where they play, and will put a maximum of two instances. For example, the boss music used for Banthus in Banthus cave will only be called "Banthus, Crow Rider" even though the piece is used for other bosses as well such as Leviathan and Ignis, Chieftan Trockta and Wally No. 9. **

**Skyress8619: I will try to work on this story while I have writer's block. My profile has further details on this story. **

**Skyress8619: Before I begin posting after this Author's Note, I need to put a disclaimer here. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Elsword. Elsword is owned by KOG Studios and its publishers, such as Nexon and Kill3rCombo. **

**Skyress8619: The first actual chapter of this story will be posted after this Author's Note. A word of thanks to CanofAxe for notifying me that I was not allowed to post just Author's Notes as per the Guidelines, so I wrote the first chapter so I could post. So… enjoy. **


	2. Clock Tower Square

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**Skyress8619: Greetings, and welcome to a chapter of the Soundtrack Collaboration. This music plays in the rest area of Velder known as the Clock Tower Square, an area which was untouched by the demons. **

**Skyress8619: This is personally one of my favourite soundtracks of Elsword, mainly because of the calming effect that it gives. Music is one of the only things that calm me down, especially if I feel that I am going out of control. This is one of those pieces, and it is also used in one of the Elsword White Day cutscenes, featuring Blade Master and Wind Sneaker. I encourage you to watch it on YouTube if you have not already. This event was only in KR Elsword, but there are English subtitles. **

**Skyress8619: Now, we shall start. **

**Classes:  
Elsword: Lord Knight  
Aisha: Elemental Master  
Raven: Blade Master  
Rena: Wind Sneaker  
Eve: Code Empress  
(Remember that I am taking location and members of Elgang into account. Chung does not join until Resiam Outskirts in Hamel, and Elesis does not join until the end of Southern Gate)**

The Prosperity Road had been full of demons and dark elves, and for the Elgang to get a closer look at the pillar of darkness that rose from the palace, they needed to fight their way towards it. Finally, after an exhausting day, they arrived at the Clock Tower Square. Memories of Seris and his comrades began to flow into Raven's mind. It had been bustling with people back then, but because of the demons, it was now empty.

But that did not change the fact that it was still a peaceful place. Sometimes, Seris and he would sit next to the clock tower, enjoying the cool night air underneath the stars and the moon. At that time, of course it would be empty; the Blade Master had felt relieved that the pubs of Velder had been elsewhere. Several abandoned stores surrounded the Clock Tower Square; of course the people had evacuated, but still, this area was untouched by the demons.

It had been one of his favourite places to be. Raven had been busy as a Crow Mercenary captain, and at night was the time to relax, and that would be at the Clock Tower Square.  
"Raven? Are you thinking again?" Rena asked, poking the Blade Master in the right shoulder. He snapped out of his memories, turning to face the Wind Sneaker.  
"I was. I'm relieved that it still is like it was years ago…"

"You mean this place?"  
"Yes." They allowed the silence to echo.  
"Now that there aren't any demons here, let's rest. It's been a hard day." Elsword suggested, sitting down on a nearby bench. Aisha did the same. Eve's servants somehow summoned a chair and table. The Nasod queen sat down, with Ophelia serving her tea.

Rena and Raven sat on opposite ends of a bench. Elsword and Aisha had already started a conversation, with Eve joining in. The Blade Master allowed his mind to wander again, and he found himself almost reliving a memory of one night…

_Flashback _

"_Raven?" Seris approached the desk on their house, eyeing the captain. The pile of paperwork he had brought home had halved, but his own energy had obviously diminished significantly, because Raven now slept on his desk, pen still in hand. He did not even stir at his fiancée's words.  
"Raven?" Again there was no response. _

Hmm… He really has been tiring himself out these days. _Seris walked around to Raven's side, gently poking him on the shoulder. His eyes slowly opened, revealing brown orbs.  
"… What happened?" Sleep was still evident in his voice as he straightened up in his chair, obviously confused.  
"You fell asleep while you were doing your paperwork."_

_Her words hit him like a truck. Raven's eyes widened and he frantically scanned the desk to try and find what he was doing before he fell asleep. On the left corner was a pile of papers that had not been done yet. There were several sheets of paper on the desk space in front of him; it was all just one long document of terms before a signature at the bottom of the last page. And then there was a pile on the right corner that had completed papers. _

_The captain tried to remember what he was doing before he drifted off. He was reading the document, he recalled, but he could not remember where exactly he was up to. Still frantic, his eyes skimmed the lines of text in front of him. _Damn it, where was I up to…? It would take too long read the entire thing again… _What if he was up to the last sentence? The way that the papers were organised made no indication of which page he was up to. _

"_Calm down, Raven. You've obviously been tiring yourself out for the past few days. You need a break." Seris suggested. Her fiancée thought about it for a moment.  
"How? I can't even sleep at night because I worry about my comrades for tomorrow and all the urgent paperwork I haven't even done. And if I don't do a proper job, I won't be able to earn enough or I'll get fired…" He buried his face into his hands. _

"_Raven. Just calm down. It really will help, and I know a really peaceful place where we can relax." Seris told him again.  
"Where?"  
"The Clock Tower Square."  
"But it's really busy; there are a lot of shops there."_

"_They're not open at ten thirty in the night." The captain glanced at the clock that was on his desk. She was right.  
"Besides, there's probably no one around, and the pubs are elsewhere, so we won't be meeting anyone who's drunk." Seris continued and Raven stood up.  
"Okay. I'll go." They headed out the door._

_It did not take the two long to reach the Clock Tower Square. The crows were asleep; it was ironic that the captain would be called awake by the loud cawing of the crows every morning. The night was clear, displaying the dark sky where stars were scattered like a small amount of silver glitter. The full moon was overhead, bathing the scene in its light. Most of the streetlights around this area were broken, but it looked like no one had bothered to tell the local council about it. _

_Raven and Seris sat down on one of the benches surrounding the clock tower in the middle, cherishing the cool night air and the silence. The sun was not there to blind them, and there was none of the usual noise that was there when Velder was awake.  
"It really feels nice here…" The captain commented, almost talking to himself.  
"See? You've stopped panicking." _

"_..." Another silence followed. Seris broke it.  
"Raven… I, um…"  
"Yes?"  
"I forgot to bring something warm to wear. I'm cold." He turned to look at her. She was only in shorts and a plain T-shirt. Raven was still in uniform. _

"_Here." He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer, sharing his warmth. She blushed, but it was unnoticeable with only the moon's light.  
"… Thanks. Can we stay here for a while longer?" Raven smiled. It was a smile that she had not seen in a few days since his stress levels rose.  
"Why not? I like it here to. We should come here more often." Seris smiled too. _

"_But you need sleep."  
"I…" He really couldn't argue with her. "But let's just leave that tonight. It's not like I have a curfew."  
"I can give you one." She laughed as Raven flushed red.  
"You can't just control me like that! I'm the one who's working here."_

"_Fine. Let's just enjoy this place for now and stop disturbing the silence. We'll worry about your amount of sleep later." Silence ensued, and it stayed until they got up and left half an hour later. _

_Flashback end_

The sun was beginning to set. Unfortunately, all the buildings blocked the majority of the warm hues, but Rena was still content.  
"The sunset is still beautiful here, though. It really is unusual that we get to cherish these kinds of things while there are demons to get rid of." The Wind Sneaker thought aloud. Raven couldn't help but agree.

He had never come here at sunset, mainly because of work, but Seris had suggested doing something like this when he got a small holiday. The opportunity never came. Soon, the sunset was over, and the sky's shade of blue darkened, continuing to darken until it would be all black. Night was approaching.  
"Do you think we'll be able to stay at an abandoned inn? There's one right here." Aisha asked.

"Why not? Besides, there still should be supplies, so we can make dinner ourselves." Elsword answered, standing up. He was followed by the Elemental Master.  
"Rena, Raven, are you guys coming?" The two snapped out of their thoughts and turned towards the Lord Knight.  
"I want to stay here a while longer." The elf spoke.

"Same here."  
"Alright then. We'll be at that inn over there." Elsword pointed towards a building as he began to walk towards it.  
"Oberon, Ophelia, search the inn for anyone. Alert me immediately if there is someone. If not, search for supplies, and I will trust you two to make dinner." Eve told her servants, standing up herself and walking alongside the Lord Knight. Aisha followed too. Oberon and Ophelia dashed inside the inn and disappeared.

It did not take long for an argument to break out between Elsword and Aisha, but Rena and Raven paid no attention. An hour passed by too quickly, and it was already dark. There was a crescent moon this time, but there seemed to be the same amount of stars in the sky. The Wind Sneaker had been silent the entire time, and so had the Blade Master.  
"Um… Raven?" It was almost a whisper, but it was loud enough.

"Yes?"  
"I'm cold, but I still want to stay a little bit longer…" Now that he thought about it, her voice almost imitated that of Seris. Without replying, he shuffled closer, wrapped an arm around Rena and pulled her in. She blushed; luckily there wasn't enough light, or Raven would have seen.

"T-thanks." The Wind Sneaker's words were awkward, but the Blade Master seemed to maintain his calmness.  
"I wanted to stay here longer too. There are a lot of memories here…"  
"Is… is this about her?"  
"Yes. Sometimes the work of a captain got very stressful. She would bring me here to calm down. It always helped." He paused.

"We always came at night, because in the day, Velder would be busy. Being able to sit in silence was something I learned to cherish. And also because the night is much cooler than the day."  
"Well, then let's keep the silence going, until we decide to leave." Less than five minutes past before a familiar voice broke the silence, echoing across the square.

"Hey, Rena, Raven! It's dinner time! You two should eat before the food gets cold." Elsword's mouth was obviously half full. Just as the Wind Sneaker and Blade Master expected, another argument broke out.  
"I thought those two matured." Rena commented with a smile. "Even though they have gotten a bit more serious, they still argue."

"Well, let's go and break them up, then. After we get rid of the demons around here, we can always come back here if we have any spare time." Raven stood up, walking back towards the inn. The elf followed. After they entered the inn, Rena walked over to Elsword and Aisha with her signature smile. The Blade Master paid no attention to them, instead turning back to the Clock Tower Square.

_I'll miss you, Seris. _

**Skyress8619: First chapter complete. I cannot tell any of you which one will be next, though, but it looks like I still have writer's block for the Killing story, which means that progress on that story is still halted. I will notify you when I get back to work on that one. **

**Elsword: But I thought you were pre-writing chapters!**

**Skyress8619: I am. I am waiting for my beta reader to finish working on the first chapter. The second chapter is already ready to be posted, though. And the third chapter is a few paragraphs away from completion, and it is writer's block that is preventing me from doing so. **

**Skyress8619: That seems to be all I have to say for now. I will see you all next time in the next update, or you are welcome to PM me. I do not mind a conversation at all. **

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	3. Battleship

**Skyress8619 has logged in. **

**Skyress8619: Greetings, readers, and welcome to another chapter of the Soundtrack Collaboration. This time we are doing the music of the ship that runs in between Velder and Hamel. I have yet to get a proper description of it, as I do spend my Elsword time running Secret Dungeons and Henir's Time and Space as fast as I can, instead of going around to these places. I have been in the Battleship before, so I know what it looks like. **

**Skyress8619: Alright. Let us start.**

**Classes:  
Elsword: Rune Slayer  
Aisha: Elemental Master  
Rena: Night Watcher  
Raven: Veteran Commander  
Eve: Code Empress  
Elesis: Grand Master **

Elsword had never been on a ship before. It had been twenty minutes since the Hamel-destined battleship made its way over the ocean towards the Fluorine continent. Port Lurensia had disappeared behind them not long ago, and the winds seemed to be good. The Rune Slayer looked out on top of the ship, still fascinated by the water. A dolphin came into sight, causing the red-head to stare in wonder.

"Elesis! It's a dolphin!" He jabbed his sister beside him with a finger while pointing at the sea creature.  
"I really never thought we would see one in real life." She commented. Her massive claymore, instead of being beside her, was in a storeroom along with all the other weapons.  
"Let me try something." Elsword splayed his hands towards a space in front of him and held them there. A ring of fire formed.

The dolphin dived down, and the Rune Slayer initially thought that it was not interested at all, but the sea creature came back up, jumping through the ring of fire, before landing into the sea once again.  
"Woah, that was cool." The ring of fire disappeared, and the dolphin continued to follow before again disappearing into the depths of the ocean.  
"They're really just like what they are in the books."

No one paid a worry about Aisha; she was most likely in a cabin immersing herself in books about magic. They had no idea where the books came from, though. Eve was also in one of the cabins, maintaining Oberon and Ophelia. Raven and Rena also stood on the deck with Elsword and Elesis. Raven looked out at the sea ahead of the ship, while Rena was chatting to one of the female crew members; both looked like they were enjoying themselves.

_Well, even though Raven cares about all of us, he still likes to be alone. _The Rune Slayer looked at the figure with long, black hair that sailed with the wind. At first, Elsword recoiled slightly from shock. _Wait… okay, calm down Elsword, it's Raven, he just has long hair, that's all… _  
"Did you think he was one of the crew members?" The Grand Master nudged the Rune Slayer with her elbow.

"Yeah. He looks like a girl from behind." He said aloud, suddenly afraid that he said it too loud.  
"I heard that." The Veteran Commander turned around, giving Elsword a death glare. The latter shuddered before hiding behind his sister.  
"I think the point that Elsword was trying to make was that you should cut your hair to avoid public humiliation." Elesis spoke for her younger sibling.

"Hmm… maybe I should." He answered before turning away. _I don't think he's going to ever cut his hair, anyway._ The Grand Master walked towards the Veteran Commander, almost ignoring her little brother. She finally joined his side.  
"I heard you used to be the captain of the Crow Mercenaries." Elesis had only joined the Elgang recently, and was still learning about the rest of the members.

"Yes, I was a captain."  
"I'm sorry, but can I use this time to ask you questions? I'm still learning about my brother's friends."  
"It's only normal that you ask questions. There is nothing better to do, anyway." There was a pause.

"How old are you?"  
"Twenty seven."  
"Ah, older than me. Which then means that you have much more experience than me. I'm only twenty."  
"I see. I think I could teach you a few things, then. I heard that you were the first leader of the Red Knights, and that they were established under your nickname."

"That is also true. Talking about the time back in Velder before we left, the people seemed to be scared of you. Is it because of your arm?"  
"My arm is part of the reason, but there's also something else, which was about something that happened several years ago when I was captain."  
"Is that the reason why you're not captain now?"

"Precisely."  
"Can I ask what happened?"  
"…" Raven seemed to think for a moment. "They're scared of me most likely because I'm meant to be dead."  
"You're meant to be… dead?" Elesis was clearly surprised.

"But it's a memory I'd rather not recall."  
"Alright, then." Elesis tried to think of something to ask, but found nothing. Instead, she gazed ahead at the ocean, just like Raven was doing. Just watching the waves gave a calming effect. The Grand Master had been angry knowing that they could not save Velder from the demons yet, but this was something that helped her calm down more. It was only now that she properly noticed the red streak in the Veteran Commander's hair.

Rena walked over and stood beside Elesis.  
"Hello, Red Knights Captain."  
"You can just call me Elesis. We're friends." The Grand Master replied with a smile, and the Night Watcher returned it.  
"So, are you a leader too?"

"I am the highest rank of the Night Savers, which is the Night Watcher."  
"Ah, the Night Savers. I have only briefly heard of them, so I do not know much. Isn't the highest rank essentially the leader?"  
"I can't take the leadership role since I'm travelling around, so I handed it back to the previous leader. I think he's better at that role than me."

"Well, you don't know how good you are until you actually lead and have your team members give feedback." There was a pause.  
"Thanks, but I think I'd prefer to be just a fighter, anyway."  
"Aren't you concerned being around men? I mean, I don't mean to offend your clothing, but it is quite revealing."

Rena paused.  
"Oh no, it's perfectly fine. They know they get punished severely for touching me, since I can still defend myself without a weapon." The Night Watcher grinned.  
"Alright. I am still learning names so, let me test myself. You're Rena, right?" The elf nodded to Elesis' question.

"The man who's next to me is Raven?" The elf nodded again. The Veteran Commander ignored the two.  
"The one in the cabin reading books is Aisha, and the one repairing her servants is Eve the Nasod queen?"  
"All correct."  
"Thanks. I hate mixing up people's names."

"I know exactly how that feels. I don't meet up with the Night Savers very often, so I actually barely know any of the other elves there." Rena chuckled, and Elesis joined in.  
"Now, I think we should just enjoy the view here." The Night Watcher said. "You have to learn to cherish these kinds of things." The Grand Master looked back, to find Elsword disappearing down a set of stairs.

"He's probably going to Aisha's room to pester her. He gets bored quite easily." Rena laughed. "Kids these days."  
"Let's just leave them to be." They stayed quiet. Elesis turned towards Raven, whose golden orange eyes seemed unfocussed.  
"Don't worry about him. He gets lost in his thoughts and memories whenever he's in a peaceful environment. Even though he doesn't show much warmth to everyone else, he really is a caring person." Rena explained.

"Ah." _Something terrible must have happened in the path… Unfortunately Velder's capital library was burnt, otherwise I would have been able to find something about the Crow Mercenaries and what happened._ The Grand Master shook her thoughts aside and focussed on the ocean in front of them, and so did the Night Watcher. Time past a lot faster than they had thought; their destination was soon in sight. The capital of the Fluorine Continent, Hamel.

**Skyress8619: The first thing that came into my mind was Raven just standing there, looking out onto the ocean, and of course, thinking. I decided to have all three of the "commanders" up there, which are Night Watcher, Veteran Commander and Grand Master. I initially thought of Raven and Elesis talking about their experiences as a commander, but this was scrapped due to the lack of experience and knowledge as a leader myself. **

**Skyress8619: So, instead of focussing yet again on my favourite character, I decided to put Rena there instead. Also, I did initially plan to have Elesis guess that Raven and Rena have something for each other, or maybe Elsword can tell that to his older sister, but this was also scrapped. Miraculously, this takes me a bit over an hour to write, with the appropriate soundtrack looping over and over. Luckily, the substitute English teacher did not mind us students listening to music as we worked. I really do not like Romeo and Juliet. **

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	4. Wintery Velder, Elrios Bay

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**Skyress8619: Greetings, readers. This chapter is based off the music that plays in the Arena maps Wintery Velder and Elrios Bay. There is pretty much no storyline for these maps, so there is not much to explain, but I will assume that you know what these stages look like. I will state the classes as they change for the instances. I also need to note that since these stages are not affected by storyline, I will put in as many characters as I want. Note that I am not very familiar with Add, so he will be making the least amount of appearances. **

**Wintery Velder**

**Classes:  
Elsword: Rune Slayer  
Aisha: Dimension Witch  
Rena: Wind Sneaker  
Raven: Blade Master  
Eve: Code Empress  
Chung: Iron Paladin  
Ara: Sakra Devanam  
Elesis: Grand Master**

"Is that… snow?" Ara peeked outside the window of her inn room. Sharing a room with her was Elesis.  
"Yes, that's snow; have you never seen snow before?" The Sakra Devanam lit up.  
"Yay! I can finally see snow! It sounds so fun!" She jumped up and down in excitement. The Grand Master smiled.

"Before you rush out, put on a coat. It's very cold out there." Elesis warned, and Ara did as she was told. The two promptly got dressed and headed out into the lobby, where they met up with the rest of the Elgang. They had already eaten breakfast earlier.  
"So, what are we going to do? It's snowing, and it is pretty much our day off, and we can't go shopping because of the snow." Rena asked the group.

They were pretty much in Velder for a shopping trip (the females had insisted, and the males had no choice but to agree. Chung was neutral, Elsword whined, and no one could read Raven's poker face) but the snow had made things a little more inconvenient.  
"Well, why don't we have a snowball fight?" Ara cheered at Aisha's suggestion.  
"Yes please!" The Sakra Devanam lit up, with smiles coming from Elesis and Raven.

"That sounds like a great idea, and we should all join in!" Elsword spoke up.  
"I was going to join in, anyway. I haven't had a snowball fight in a really long time." Rena commented. Everyone knew her town was a short distance south of Ruben, and it barely snowed in Ruben. Chung guessed that the last time was probably several decades back.  
"I'm in." The Iron Paladin grinned.

"Well, whether you participate or not, you guys still need to come with us." Aisha directed her words to Raven, Elesis and Eve. "Raven, do you know any good places? You grew up here."  
"There is a field that I usually trained my men in, but I'm not sure whether it exists at the moment."

"Then let's find out!" The Rune Slayer stood up. "Raven, lead the way."  
The Blade Master rose, and everyone else followed him out the door and through the somewhat winding streets of Velder.  
"I've been here for a long time, and sometimes I still get lost. How do you remember so clearly?" The Grand Master asked the older brother figure.

"I've lived here all my life until that day I was framed. Obviously I would still know. Some things have changed, but it's all very minor. You get used to it." Raven answered while they walked. It did not take the Elgang long to reach a field that seemed unnoticed by the general public. It was a clearing, with old racks for weapons by the side. _It's all still here…_A memory had already begun playing in his mind.

Chung stepped into the snow, and it was enough to cover his shoe and ankle.  
"Guys, let's go!" The Iron Paladin ran towards the middle of the field. The Sakra Devanam followed, picking up a snowball and throwing it at Chung. It soon erupted into a snowball fight, with Elsword, Aisha, Rena, Oberon and Ophelia joining in. Raven, Elesis and Eve still stood on the side of the field.

"They're still kids; we can't blame them. And Rena likes to have fun." Raven commented. "But Ara?"  
"She has never seen snow in her life." Elesis explained. "It probably doesn't snow in Fahrmann. Eve? Did you give your servants permission?"  
"I did. They enjoy these kinds of activities." The Nasod queen answered with her usual monotonous voice. "It is important that you allow your servants to rest, so their performance returns to an optimal level."

There were several moments of silence between the three as they observed the mass of snow throwing in front of them. It appeared that it was everyone for themselves; no alliances had been made. Yet.  
"Raven? Have you ever had a snowball fight when you were a kid?" The Grand Master nudged the Blade Master on his human arm, causing him to snap out of his thoughts.  
"I was thinking about that, actually. I have, and we would do it just to relieve our boredom."

There was another silence before a devious smirk crossed Elesis' face.  
"Why don't we join in? We can form an alliance." A smile curled on Raven's lips.  
"Why not? You can use this snowball fight as practice for on-the-spot strategizing while against larger enemy numbers." The Grand Master held back a groan.  
"Did you actually bother to do that when you were captain?"

"Small things like a snowball fight were tests for a captain, since you were also fighting alongside your soldiers, unlike a general." The Blade Master explained. "But I'm not a captain anymore, and you are a commander of some sort."  
"… Fine. " Raven laughed. The others were too immersed in their snow battle that they didn't hear.

"Well, let's go while we have surprise on our side." They exchanged glances before filling both of their hands with snow, running towards the rest of the Elgang. Elesis threw both snowballs, aiming for Elsword and Chung, who dodged at the last moment. Everyone else realised that the Grand Master and the Blade Master had joined in. Suddenly the atmosphere grew more tense; it was not a good idea to underestimate the two Masters, especially if they were on a team.

The Elgang immediately looked up to see Raven sailing over their heads, throwing snow down at them. Elsword dove to the side, dodging a snowball aimed for his head. Rena performed a backflip kick, throwing snow up into the air in the process and using that as a shield to block the attack. Some of the snow also sprayed forward, covering Chung's Freiturnier in the white powder.

"Hey!" The Iron Paladin aimed a snowball at the Wind Sneaker, who ran off and aimed a snowball at Raven, who had just landed. He dashed to the side to avoid it, scooping snow up in his hands as he went. Elesis continued to charge through the group, also scooping up snow and throwing at anyone who tried to get in her way. Eventually she reached Raven, but the Grand Master knelt down. The Blade Master grinned, already seeing what the plan was.

The snowball fight didn't focus on anyone in particular, and Raven used this as an advantage. Elesis began making a huge snowball, and no one seemed to notice. There were shouts and yells of annoyance from all sides, and Eve was sitting comfortably on a chair, watching the scene with her signature poker face. Everyone assumed that the Nasod servants had brought it along. Oberon and Ophelia both looked like they were thoroughly enjoying themselves as well.

_It really has been a while since we could take a break…_ Raven smiled to himself. He could already picture he and Elsword sparring in this field, the one that he had used to train his men years ago. _He promised to train every day, but I guess a day off doesn't hurt. Let's hope the demons don't attack any time-_ The Blade Master quickly sidestepped, avoiding a snowball aimed for his face.

Elsword mentally cursed for not being able to see the older brother figure humiliated, and continued to bombard him with snowballs. Raven countered each one, making sure that he didn't have to dodge; otherwise Elesis would get hit and possibly buried in the snow. Another cold projectile sailed centimetres above the Rune Slayer's head, causing him to snap his head in the direction, his eyes leading to Ara.

"Okay, I'm done." The Grand Master smirked, holding up the snowball that was a size comparable to her own claymore. "Thanks for protecting me."  
"You're welcome." The Blade Master filled his hands with snow and charged towards the rest of the Elgang, throwing as he went. He saw a rising shadow; Elesis had jumped up into the air, ready to slam the snowball down on an unlucky target. Raven ran towards Elsword, who was distracted by Aisha.

The Rune Slayer realised who was approaching him and countered the snowballs that the Blade Master, but the older brother figure had no intention of taking him down. _Three…_ Elsword dodged and weaved as well, but Raven aimed near the red-head as well, making sure he didn't move too far from where he was now. The half-Nasod closed more distance. _Two…_

Elsword no longer stood his ground and began running towards Raven, hoping to get nearer and hit him at point blank. There wasn't much distance to move, anyway. _One!_ At the last moment, the Blade Master suddenly leapt back, opening the way for the Grand Master. The Rune Slayer didn't realise until it was too late. The massive snowball came down on him at a terrifying speed, knocking him over and burying his body, making him unable to move. _One down, six to go._

Everyone else froze at the sight of Elsword being beaten so easily. Elesis made a triumphant grin, but she had no snow in her hands, forcing her to land. Raven's hands were also empty, and the remainder of the Elgang bombarded the two with snow, causing the Blade Master and the Grand Master to twist themselves to avoid them. The Masters landed gracefully, quickly gathering more snow before charging forward again.

Oberon and Ophelia had been playing passive before, before they caught the glare of Raven and Elesis. That could only mean one thing, and multiple calculations went through the Nasod's heads at once. The masculine-type began throwing snowballs as fast as it could, turning completely aggressive, while the feminine-type threw from another direction. This forced the advancing two to retreat, and Rena, Chung, Ara and Aisha also began to help the two Nasods.

The snow came too fast for Raven and Elesis to counter, and all they could do was dodge wildly. After a few seconds, the two noticed that all the projectiles were only coming to them in a stream, meaning that they could dodge to the side and out of it. _We'll do it at the same time, but we have to be extremely fast in our advance if we want to do any damage. And we have to do it at the same time._ The Blade Master understood the Grand Master, and nodded.

_They're up to something… and if they're working together, then we can, too!_ Chung thought, but before he could attempt to communicate with Rena, the Masters suddenly dashed out of the stream of snowballs coming at them. Raven boosted forward at a speed that Aisha clearly underestimated, and a snowball that was about to be slammed into her face missed by centimetres.

The tailwind almost caused the Dimension Witch to lose her footing, but the snow helped to keep her upright. As she recovered, the Blade Master turned around, using the rotational momentum to fling all the snow he had at her. The force was enough to knock Aisha over, and she landed on her back, the snow cushioning her fall. She was dazed for a few moments before realising what had just happened, and her anger quickly rose.

Elesis' legs had been trained to carry both her weight and the claymore, and now that her weapon was absent, she could run faster than she usually could in battle. The Grand Master boosted towards the Iron Paladin, who jumped upwards out of the way, his foot almost hitting Elesis in the head. However, she did not lose speed as she quickly changed direction, now aiming for Rena.

The Wind Sneaker again performed a backflip kick, sending a shield of snow in the air in front of her. The Grand Master sidestepped again while not losing speed, attempting to go around the temporary shield. There was no elf there, and Elesis continued to run at the same speed, dodging the snowballs that Rena and Chung were throwing at her from above. _At least Raven managed to take down Aisha._

But they still both had to dodge the constant onslaught of snowballs from Oberon and Ophelia. The Blade Master dodged and weaved, while trying to snow at the also constantly moving Ara. He noticed that she had snow in her hands as well, and prepared for a counterattack. He also noticed that the Sakra Devanam was slowly closing distance, and she would be ready to suddenly strike once she got close enough.

The Grand Master aimed her snowballs in front of Ara, forcing her to jump backwards and retreating. The Masters noticed Rena and Chung closing in. _Have they teamed up as well?_ Raven and Elesis faced the snowballs of their opponents again, dodging and unable to make any offensive moves. _We won't be able to do the same thing again, think of something else… _

The Blade Master waited for the Grand Master to make a signal of some sort. _This is her time to practice, so I shouldn't give any answers._ Finally a somewhat temporary plan seemed to formulate in Elesis' mind, and she gave the sky a small glance. Raven understood, and the two simultaneously leapt into the air, hands full of snow. They threw as hard as they could at Oberon and Ophelia, who reacted by dashing away.

Rena and Chung made larger snowballs while waiting for Raven and Elesis to descend. The two Masters saw this and immediately dashed off to the side to dodge the incoming snowballs, gathering snow in their hands as they went. The Wind Sneaker jumped up into the air, plunging into the ground with both feet and kicking up snow, making a cloud that covered Raven and Elesis.

The Iron Paladin used this as an opportunity to take out the Blade Master and the Grand Master, but the Sakra Devanam cut in, sailing in through the cloud. It was already too late to dodge; Rena's plan backfired and Chung got a giant snowball to the chest, the force sending him across to the side of the field and tumbling into a pile of the white powder. Ara triumphantly smiled, before turning to face the cloud of snow that had faded.

Raven and Elesis ran while throwing at Oberon and Ophelia, noting that the two Nasods worked well with each other. After a few moments stuck in the stalemate of countering snowballs, the masculine-type took out his tonfas and slashed upwards, making sure to catch the snow on the ground. Another cloud was kicked up, completely hiding Oberon and Ophelia. _They may be building something inside that cloud, so we have to be careful._

The cloud soon enveloped the entire field, partially blinding all of the remaining participants of the now-serious snowball fight. _We have to be even more careful of Rena and Ara; they may have teamed up together, and the Wind Sneaker isn't called that for nothing, and we all know how fast the Sakra Devanam is, too._ Raven and Elesis knew that they would be able to see the shadows of their temporary foes, but there was none. _This is bad… are they too far away? Or can we just not see properly?_

The Blade Master whipped around as he felt the tailwind of something rushing past him, and again in front of Elesis. It didn't take long for the two Masters to realise that both of them were being circled, and rapidly. _We're surrounded! It has to be Rena and Ara!_ The Grand Master picked up snow and began to throw forward, but her projectiles did not meet any targets. _If only we could get a view of the entire place…_

_That's it!_ Raven jumped as high as he could into the air, sailing above the cloud of snow that Oberon had made. Under the bright sunlight, the Blade Master saw five shadows. Two were stationary and next to each other; they had to be the Nasods. The one almost directly below him was Elesis, and there were two circling her, getting faster and faster.

The tailwind was already causing a gust that travelled around the Grand Master. The Blade Master couldn't find a way out of the tornado that was being created, and Elesis was also trapped with him. _Damn! We should have kept moving when the cloud came up! Rena must have been able to see us from above._ He had forgotten to take into account that his foes could see him. And so had Elesis. _This'll be a good lesson for her; we cannot assume that our opponents have the same disadvantages as us, even if we know their abilities well. _

Raven landed gracefully next to a panicky Elesis. _There might be still a chance, and it seems the only way they can hit us is with a speed attack. We might be able to dodge it…_  
"Elesis, be careful of speed attack." She didn't answer, but she prepared herself. _But they're going at such a fast speed that they have gathered… _

Two blurs, one orange and one green, came at the two Masters so fast that they were unable to react before it was too late. Raven saw Rena's smirk for a split second right before a snowball slammed into his face. The Wind Sneaker then kicked the Blade Master in the chest, causing him to fly backwards and tumble, gathering snow as he went until he finally halted.

The snowball that Raven had gathered around himself collapsed, leaving him lying dazed in a pile of the white powder. Just as he recovered, his eyes widened as he saw a mix of red and white come towards him. The Blade Master shut his eyes and the Grand Master crashed into him, increasing the size of the pile of snow. He struggled to breathe as now his head was stuck with only his limbs sticking out.

A rush of adrenaline kicked in, and Raven sat up, shaking his head rapidly to get rid of any snow stuck in his hair, which obediently smoothed itself down. Elesis had also recovered and sat up beside him. The next thing that came to the Blade Master was the laughter coming from Elsword, Aisha, Rena, Chung and Ara. The Rune Slayer, Dimension Witch and Iron Paladin were now standing beside the Wind Sneaker and Sakra Devanam, as well as the two Nasods.

"Suck that up, Raven!" The red-head yelled, causing the raven-haired man's rage to rise. _Calm down, Raven. It's just a snowball fight. Elsword's just making a big deal out of it._  
"Elesis was the one playing captain here. I was just following." The Blade Master said back with a smirk.  
"What?" The Grand Master turned to Raven.

"I am no longer a commander, but you are. It was just a simple snowball fight that I was planning to use as a test, and you failed." Elesis had no choice but to go along.  
"Next time," the Blade Master stood up, brushing off the snow from his shirt, coat and pants. "Never underestimate your opponents, even if you know their own abilities. If something on the field disadvantages you, never assume that your opponent also has this disadvantage. They usually use it against you. That is a simple, yet crucial lesson that you have learned today."

Elesis could not deny the fact that Raven had been a captain for longer than she had, and he had more experience.  
"… Alright. I'll take it into note. And are you okay?"  
"Hmm?"  
"You're blushing."

The rest of the Elgang heard it, and Elsword laughed even harder.  
"I'm fine, Elesis. It's just cold, that's all. My head was buried in the snow, after all."  
"Ah. Looks like my brother has yet to understand." The two Masters turned to face the Rune Slayer, shooting him death glares. The younger sibling at first could not take the situation seriously because of Raven's reddened face, but soon he stopped laughing, causing Rena to laugh harder.

Elesis and Raven approached, with the former brushing snow off her clothes. The Wind Sneaker placed a hand on the Blade Master's cheek, causing his posture to stiffen and his eyes to widen. Fortunately for him, his face did not go any redder than it already was.  
"You're just cold. I was just checking to see if you were actually blushing." Rena withdrew her hand.

"Well," Raven recovered quickly. "It's quite impossible for me to blush in this weather, anyway."  
"Good point." There was an awkward silence before Aisha broke it.  
"… Now what? Are we just going to lounge around for the rest of the day?"

No one answered the Dimension Witch's question until another awkward silence later.

**Elrios Bay**

**Classes  
Elsword: Infinity Sword  
Aisha: Void Princess  
Rena: Wind Sneaker  
Raven: Veteran Commander  
Eve: Code Empress  
Chung: Iron Paladin**

… _When was the last time I visited Elrios Bay? It could have been 20 years…_ Raven had already forgotten everything about this particular place, but the scenery was still something to admire. Still, he could not ignore the extremely excited elf beside him.  
"Wow… it's so cool!" On the way, Rena could barely hold down her energy, as she had never seen a real beach before in her entire life.

_And how old is she? Hundreds of years old?_ They must have looked awkward, being internationally famous for their fighting skill, and then seen coming down to the beach on a day off. Elsword wore a simple red T-shirt and matching shorts, Aisha wore her usual Void Princess attire, Rena also wore a dress, this time with leaves. Chung also donned a shirt, except his was blue, and his shorts were white.

Even Eve did not wear her usual regal dress, instead having a plain white one. Oberon and Ophelia stood at her side, carrying the majority of the towels and a large umbrella for shelter and shade. Raven was suddenly self-conscious. Usually, he had his Crow Mercenary uniform on, and was seen as more serious in the Elgang. Instead, all he had was a button-up shirt and shorts, and the lack of leg armour and plated metal shoes was making him feel lighter than usual. The Elgang all wore sandals, except for the Code Empress, who wore light shoes.

A sudden strong breeze blew in, and several palm trees that were nearby swayed slightly along with it.  
"Let's start setting up!" Rena ran into the sun-warmed sand and everyone else chased after her, almost not being able to keep up due to the Wind Sneaker's mana-powered legs. Elsword almost fell face-first into the sand.

"Hey, wait up! Stop running so fast!" Elrios Bay was huge, giving them a lot of space to spread out. The general public went about in their own business, not noticing that the Elgang was here.  
"Find a suitable space and spread out the towels on the sand. Also put up the umbrella." Eve's monotone voice reached Oberon and Ophelia, who nodded obediently.

The servants had also brought a beach chair for their queen, and the umbrella was also specifically for her. The Code Empress sat down on the chair and leaned back, already beginning to relax. Everyone that she was not the kind of person to be energetic and playful, which was an almost polar opposite to Rena. The Wind Sneaker was running along the sand, enjoying the sunny weather that they were having, until a certain bat had to throw sand at her.

"Hey!" Angkor flew away cackling, with the elf unable to catch him; the sand was slowing her down. Raven watched all of this, before Elsword poked him on the human arm.  
"Are you going to take off your shirt or what?" The Veteran Commander stiffened slightly.  
"Hmm?"  
"We're at a beach!" The Infinity Sword almost added an insult at the end of the sentence. "You've been walking around without a shirt for quite a long time, you know."

"I think I would like to see how much you built on yourself, considering how much I have been telling you to train."  
"Well, how about if I strip, you do it too?" The wording made the atmosphere feel a little awkward.  
"Everyone already knows what I look like without a shirt."

"Raven, that was years ago. You probably would have gotten a lot more muscle now." Elsword teased, and Raven held back a groan.  
"Hey, Rena, you should put on some sunscreen." Chung took out a bottle of the white substance from a bag. "Otherwise you'll get sunburnt, and that's pretty annoying and painful. Personal experience."

"Thanks, Chung." The Wind Sneaker was again distracted as she ran over to the Iron Paladin, who was applying sunscreen on himself.  
"Well, it's getting hot, so I think I'll just…" Rena slipped off her dress, revealing a bikini with green flowers. Raven was on the way to get sunscreen too, but the sight of the lack of clothes made him look away, hoping that his face wouldn't heat up.

After taking a deep breath and composing himself, the Veteran Commander took out the second bottle of sunscreen that they had brought along and began to apply it to his face, neck and legs, realising that he could not get it on his right arm. He also had to be careful not to get any of the white substance on his hair, which was flowing in the constant wind and not annoying him.

"Trying not to be perverted, right?" Elsword smirked as he approached, having watched all of that. Again, Raven held back a groan.  
"Elsword, please stop."  
"Hey, Raven, do you need sunscreen?" Rena turned towards the Veteran Commander, holding up the bottle of sunscreen that she had just finished using.

"I just applied some."  
"Need help on your right arm?"  
"Actually… yes." The half-Nasod replied awkwardly while the elf approached him with a smile, and he was automatically reading. _Keep calm, keep calm…_ The Infinity Sword walked over to the Void Princess and the two began to communicate quietly. It was obvious that they were plotting something, but the Veteran Commander's mind was already occupied.

He naturally tensed as Rena began to rub in the sunscreen, and Raven was trying to direct his mind away from the hand on his arm.  
"Okay, done." The Wind Sneaker poked the Veteran Commander in the cheek when he did not react.  
"You're cute when you blush, you know." That only made his face turn redder.

Suddenly Angkor slammed into his face, almost knocking him over, and it clung there.  
"Mmmmph!" The stupid bat was also covering his mouth as well as his vision. There was minimum room to breathe, but at least he was not suffocating.  
"Go, Angkor!" Raven heard Elsword yell, making him more angry.  
"Mmmph!" The Veteran Commander wanted to tell Angkor to get its stupid body off his face, but he forgot that his mouth was covered.

He could hear Elsword and Aisha laughing some distance in front of him. He was also aware of the fact that the two could easily sneak up on him. Raven then heard Rena's laughter. _Damn it, I really am looking ridiculous._  
"Okay, let's do a deal, how about it?" Angkor spoke in a mocking tone, lifting itself slightly so the half-Nasod could talk.  
"Why would I want to make a deal with you?" '

"I'll get off your face, but you have to take off your shirt, otherwise I'm sticking back on." _Elsword and Aisha really were plotting this. _  
"… Fine. Now get off." _I don't really see why Elsword wants me to, but I guess it doesn't hurt._ At his words, the bat got off.  
"Unbutton slowly." Angkor commanded.

"You pervert. Especially if you made Aisha dress like that all the time." Raven shot back.  
"Otherwise she wouldn't have the power she has, right?" Angkor smirked. The Veteran Commander said nothing; he could not counter than, anyway. Not wanting the stupid bat to stick back onto his face, he obeyed, unbuttoning the shirt and taking it off, tossing it onto the grey towel that was lying on the sand.

Rena was close to getting a nosebleed. Yes, Raven had always had his chest exposed, but not his entire god damn upper body, which had been toned after years of training. He even had a six-pack now. She turned away, feeling her face heat up. Elsword and Aisha laughed at the elf's reaction.  
"I knew you two liked each other!" The Infinity Sword yelled. The Veteran Commander now desperately wanted to ruin the red-head's day. He suppressed a smirk as an idea came into mind.

"How about we train today, Elsword?" He stopped laughing.  
"Training? I thought today was meant to be a day off!" Elsword complained.  
"Now that this is a different environment, let's see if you can beat me this time." Raven knew how annoyed the Infinity Sword would get whenever he lost, and losing was a constant thing for him.

"Sure, why not? If it's a chance to beat you, I wouldn't ever turn it down." That trademark cocky grin came up on Elsword's features as he took off his own shirt, tossing it onto his red towel. _He would never learn to give up, but in a way, that's a good thing._  
"How about this? Neither of us have our usual weapons, so we'll just fight with what we have. And if any one of us gets wet or loses their balance we lose." The Infinity Sword suggested, shifting into a fighting stance. It was his best chance to humiliate his opponent in public.

"Fine by me." The Veteran Commander also shifted into a fighting stance, and this immediately caught the attention of everyone else at Elrios Bay.  
"Let's go, Conwell!" Elsword yelled, drawing out the bladed sheathe and charging at Raven. The latter turned transparent and rushed to the side at the last moment, making the Infinity Sword's slash miss. The Veteran Commander quickly switched directions of his Shadow Step before performing a backflip.

The red-head jumped into the air, avoiding napalm grenades that would have connected with his face. Using his opponent's vulnerability, Elsword summoned more Conwells, raining them down on Raven. Luckily he recovered on time; the Veteran Commander leapt back to dodge the attack before he took a stance and the vents on his Nasod arm opened up.  
"Revolver Cannon!" Just as the Infinity Sword landed, he immediately rushed to the side, almost falling over onto the sand.

After the attack finished, Raven recoiled backwards, his arm alight. Elsword used the chance to close distance, knowing that his opponent would have a disadvantage in close combat with his blade. The red-head unleashed a barrage of slashes, doing the best he could without his regular sword. His target blocked all the blows with the metal arm, and eventually they clashed.

The Infinity Sword gained strength and pushed the Veteran Commander off, causing his opponent to sail through the air. Elsword summoned more Conwells, sending them at Raven, but the latter deflected the blades with his arm before landing on the ground. Again, they charged at one another and the red-head performed a wide, horizontal slash. He never saw what was coming next.

The Veteran Commander slid with an outstretched leg, avoiding the slash and hitting Elsword in the shin. Just as the Infinity Sword was about to use his other foot to recover, something hit him hard in the stomach, and it wasn't Raven's metal arm. Now the red-head was the one who was sailing in the air, still recovering from the pain of the blow. Raven jumped up to meet him, about to land a punch that would send his opponent into the water.

Elsword recovered in time, kicking with both feet, the blow landing on Raven's side. The Veteran Commander fell, and the Infinity Sword was hoping that he would land on his back. Instead, the raven-haired man landed on his feet, the sand reducing the impact. However, now his feet were slightly stuck, and the red-head used this chance to send down more Conwells.

Raven dashed off towards the side, dodging the incoming blades. Elsword held back a groan before landing. The Veteran Commander stood still, as if taunting his opponent, and the red-head summoned another Conwell, using the two to dual-wield. He charged and at the last moment, Raven sidestepped, sweeping Elsword's legs with his foot. The Infinity Sword fell forward, but rolled, quickly getting onto his feet.

_I'll let him off. A roll isn't as bad as an actual fall._ The half-Nasod was not standing too far away, and performed a low sweeping kick aimed for the red-head's side. Elsword recovered fast enough to jump, avoiding the attack. Raven then dodged more blades before meeting the Infinity Sword with both hands armed. Before the red-head could attack, however, a high turning kick came at him, aiming for his head.

Elsword blocked the kick with the flat of Conwell before another, more forceful kick came to his other side. Soon, the Infinity Sword was dodging a barrage of kicks from the Veteran Commander himself. The former then blocked with both blades as Raven tried to finish his combo with a flaming punch.  
"What is with you and those kicks? You never kick."

Raven did not answer, instead doing a backflip, his foot sending Elsword up into the air again. Again the Veteran Commander rose up to meet him, ready to smash him into the sand. The Infinity Sword dodged the punch that came at him and hit his opponent with the flat of Conwell, sending him back towards the ground. Raven prepared to land on his hands, as he knew he was approaching the ground too fast to flip back onto his feet.

Suddenly, cold water washed over him, submerging him entirely. Saltwater was now going through his nose and his throat, causing the two airways to burn. At first, the Veteran Commander struggled for air before realising that the water was shallow, and he sat up, coughing up the water that had entered his lungs, and increasing the pain in his throat as he did so.

"I won! I won!" Raven could faintly hear Elsword celebrating his long-wanted victory as he continued to cough, fearing that he would eventually bring up blood.  
"Raven, are you okay?" Rena was beside him now, patting his back and helping him to his feet. It was only when the Veteran Commander stood when he stopped coughing. He was about to reply, but the burning in his throat prevented him from saying anything.

The Wind Sneaker led Raven back; his eyes were stinging so much that he had to keep them closed. Even like that, tears continued to spill out.  
"Don't rub your eyes. That'll make it worse." Finally the elf handed the half-Nasod a bottle of water, which he eagerly gulped down. Then she turned to the red-head, who was still rejoicing his victory alongside Aisha.

"You guys should be checking if Raven's okay!" Rena yelled.  
"Woah, woah, calm down. He's going to be fine." Elsword held his hands up defensively.  
"I'm fine, Rena. It's alright." The Veteran Commander's voice was hoarse, but still audible and understandable. The Wind Sneaker's anger disappeared.  
"You sure?"

Raven nodded, and stood up, putting the empty bottle down beside him. The vents on his Nasod arm opened, and at first, only steam came out before the flames burst. A little shake shook off the salt. Otherwise, he was still wet.  
"So, who taught you to kick like that?" The Infinity Sword faced the Veteran Commander.  
"The Wind Sneaker herself, of course." The half-Nasod allowed a smirk on his features.

Angkor wanted to wipe that smirk off his face, even if it didn't see it often. The bat, again, charged forward to latch itself on Raven's face. The Veteran Commander simply kicked, sending the poor thing flying. A small splash was heard.  
"Stop hitting Angkor like that!" Aisha yelled.  
"Unless he stops being annoying, then I'll stop."

The Void Princess hurried over to the water to make sure that bat hadn't drowned. Fortunately, and unfortunately for Raven, it was still alive.  
"Wow, we turned up to Elrios Bay pretty late. The sun is almost close to setting." Chung observed, and everyone else noticed how close the orb of light was to the horizon.  
"Let's stay and watch it." Rena suggested, as a breeze swept her long hair to the side.

It did not take long for the Elgang to finally settle down. _Being here as an adult really does make a difference._

**Skyress8619: I apologise for the least amount of updating. I am still unable to post the Killing story because of my beta-reader being busy, but I also am too, and it was because of school and piano that caused this update to arrive a lot later than intended. **

**Skyress8619: It is best to expect updates to be coming very, very slowly, even though I am approaching the term holidays of about two weeks, because I planned to dedicate the holidays to my Blade Master (which is still level 1) and cap it as soon as possible. Even just level 67 or 68 is alright; I am helping someone to run a grendizing service, but at the moment, all I am doing is running dungeons, and if I wish to help with the actual orders, I need a lot more characters to be successful. **

**Skyress8619: I may update about a month later, since this time is not very busy (three assignments and two tests in the same week, usually one after the other), but the work will peak at around late Term 3 – Early Term 4. **

**Skyress8619: And, that is all I have to say for now. **

**Skyress8619 has logged out. **


	5. Free Training

**Skyress8619 has logged in.**

**Skyress8619: Greetings, readers, and welcome to another chapter of the Soundtrack Collaboration. This time, we are using the home to all the theorycrafters and testers of Elsword, the Free Training Room. I hope you all know what it looks like, and if you do not know how to access it, you talk to Camilla and click "Free Training." Whenever I get new skills or combos, I usually try them out here. **

**Skyress8619: Onward to the chapter. **

**Classes:  
Elsword: Lord Knight  
Aisha: Elemental Master  
Rena: Grand Archer  
Raven: Blade Master  
Eve: Code Nemesis  
Chung: Iron Paladin**

"Gigantic Slash!" Elsword readied his sword, a large aura appearing before he slashed, organising the attacks into powerful and fast combos. The rest of the Elgang watched with content; they had all come here to try out their new-found skills. Finally, the Lord Knight ended his combo with an upwards slice, the Training Monkey almost flying upwards into the air. The aura disappeared. To Elsword's dismay, the Training Monkey bore not even a single scratch from that attack.

"There has to be some sort of magic protecting that thing. We can never destroy it, even though it's just made of wood." The Lord Knight commented.  
"Now you need to work on your stamina." The Blade Master bluntly said.  
"But-"  
"You are obviously exhausted from using that, and what happens if you falter just for a split second?"

Elsword sighed. He knew the answer, and Raven knew that, too.  
"Let me try destroying the Training Monkey." Aisha stepped forward. All of them were still frustrated about their usual training dummy being indestructible. The Elemental Master approached the wooden thing, glaring at its own eyes. She only got a blank stare back.  
"Elemental Storm!" She slammed the bottom of her staff into the ground, causing icicles to erupt from the ground, slashing and freezing the Training Monkey.

A storm of lightning rained down, with some of the magical projectiles landing on the wooden dummy. Aisha then raised her staff, a tornado of fire whirling around her, and the smell of burning wood reaching her nose. Finally, she stopped the assault, panting from the amount of effort. The Training Monkey still stood triumphantly in front of her, as if taunting her to dare to hit it again. Again, not even a single scratch was on the damn wooden thing.

"That's the best I've got…" The Elemental Master backed off to let someone else test their skills on the dummy.  
"Alright, my turn." Rena walked forward, facing the Training Monkey, and glaring at it just like Aisha had.  
"Shooter Destiny!" The Grand Archer fired shots all around her, eventually the green arrows changing their path and landing on the wooden dummy.

She then leapt into the air, her bow increasing in size, and made a much larger, faster and more powerful shot that seemed to pierce through the Training Monkey. Even if the attack was short, it consumed a lot more mana and energy than the elf had expected, but she had enough left to stay standing. Rena expected to see a hole that the final arrow would have put into the wooden dummy, but there was none.

The Training Monkey had endured all the hard training that the Elgang had done, and it was still standing there today, and its condition had not changed at all ever since they saw it.  
"Okay, I'm done. Need to take a tiny break." The Grand Archer stepped back. _I can expect Extreme Blade to be a lot more tiring than I thought, then, even though it's such a short attack._ Raven readied his blade, facing the Training Monkey.

"Extreme Blade!" The Blade Master dashed through his target, then again, then again, slashing as fast as he could as he went, and also gaining altitude. Finally, he summoned a black hole, and from above, made a giant cut through the black hole, creating a short show of light and darkness. Again, the Training Monkey had no signs of damage at all. It really was exhausting, but still enough to fight and evade attacks.

"Allow me to test a new weapon that I have in possession." Eve spoke, and Raven promptly moved out of the way. The Nasod Queen faced the wooden dummy, the final calculations finishing in her mind.  
"Lunatic Scud!" A portal opened up above her and a large gun dropped down, slamming onto the ground next to Eve.

Stun disks shot out, electrifying the Training Monkey, and Nasod spears rained down from overhead, making pink explosions as they made contact with the target. Another gun fell from a portal overhead, shooting electron balls with exploded. A missile launcher unfolded, firing a barrage of exploding projectiles, and the gun below it firing electron balls. A spectacular display of explosions unfolded, shaking the wooden dummy. After the dust disappeared, it still stood in its original state.

"Majority of energy consumed in summoning weapons, target does not show evidence of damage." Eve stated aloud. "Training Monkey appears to be indestructible after many testings." She walked back towards the rest of the Elgang, not showing any signs of exhaustion. "All new skills beforehand appear to be extremely destructive against targets capable of sustaining damage. More training with these new skills is highly recommended to minimise energy lost and maximise annihilation."

"Alright, my turn." Chung declared rather excitedly, grinning as he walked in front of the Training Monkey. The Iron Paladin took a deep breath in and out to calm himself down and focus.  
"Doom Strike!" First he slammed his Destroyer into the ground, creating a small shockwave that was meant to stun his targets to prevent escape.

The wooden dummy only shook. He then jumped into the air and slammed down again, dealing a more powerful blow. Again, Chung jumped into the air, gaining mana for his final strike, and used all the force he had to crash the cannon onto the space in front of the Training Monkey. It was powerful enough to create a massive eruption of pink, blue and fire. It did not take the Iron Paladin much time to recover from the attack.

And after all of that, the damn wooden dummy stood triumphantly in the Free Training Room, still indestructible, still unbroken, still _perfectly fine._  
"I wonder if there's a secret to even putting an extra cut into the Training Monkey." The Grand Archer thought aloud.  
"There should be. And if there is, we should ask Camilla about it." Elsword answered.

"Why don't we go to Camilla right now? We're all a little tired, anyway. We can continue training afterwards." Chung suggested, and everyone agreed, before exiting the Free Training Room. _She'd better have something to say about that mysteriously indestructible Training Monkey._

**Skyress8619: I am completely aware of the fact that Grand Archer's Hyper Active has been renamed from Shooter Destiny to Hunter's Destiny. The Korean voice patch still remains as Shooter Destiny, so I kept it that way. **

**Skyress8619: Hyper Actives were otherwise somewhat recently released for Elsword NA, and I have to say that among my favourite Hyper Active Skills is Lunatic Scud. Another two are Extreme Blade and Burning Buster (I do not remember whether it is Buster or Burster in NA). I would prefer Infernal Arms to have more slashes when Raven slashes with the arm, though. **

**Skyress8619: Some of the flashy Hyper Actives are, unfortunately, some of the weaker ones. Abyss Angkor is one of my favourites too, but the damage is quite small compared to other Hyper Actives. The good side is that it is not difficult to land all the hits of this skill, and this seems to be the same with Lunatic Scud. Burning Buster is perhaps the most damaging (especially with Activate Overheat Mode and Awakening), but landing all hits relies on the target's size and positioning. **

**Skyress8619: As of the post date of this chapter, my own Veteran Commander is three Henir runs away from his Hyper Active, so I have yet to taste the satisfaction of annihilating Karis and other Secret Dungeon bosses with Burning Buster. **

**Skyress8619: And, that is all I have to say.**

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	6. Fountain of Healing

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**Skyress8619: Greetings, readers. We are now at the Fountain of Healing, a place where people cleanse their mind and body before entering the temple. I note that it is important to know the background information, and the main reason why I have yet to write the soundtracks for dungeons and their bosses is because I need to battle them again, or solo clear the dungeon (so I can go at any pace I want). **

**Skyress8619: This piece is personally one of my favourites; the calming effect is powerful, especially for someone like me who has anger issues. I will not say what they are now, but if you really do want to know, you can send me a PM. I do not remember if I said this in the beginning Author's Note, but I will not use unused soundtracks, although I do hear that they are good. **

**Skyress8619: I do not know about this myself, but, it may help to listen to the soundtrack as you read. Enjoy. **

**Classes:  
Elsword: Lord Knight  
Aisha: Elemental Master  
Rena: Night Watcher  
Raven: Veteran Commander  
Eve: Code Empress  
Chung: Iron Paladin  
Ara: Sakra Devanam  
Elesis: Grand Master  
Add: Mastermind **

"Alright, we've cleared out the remainder of the Shadows." Elsword announced while the Elgang approached an unknown place. Everyone surveyed the area in front of them, finding no signs of any sort of darkness. "The Circular Waterway is still manifesting with the Shadows, so let's rest up here." The Elgang stepped out of the structure they were under, absorbing the view in front of them.

The only sound was the sound of the water running down a hill, creating a pool at the bottom, as opposed to the clashing of metal and the slicing of Shadows. A gentle breeze blew across the scene, swaying the hair of Rena, Raven, Chung, Elesis and Add slightly. However, the Mastermind could not comprehend as to why this scene was worth looking at, anyway.

"So, are we going to take a break or not?" His voice held a tone suggesting annoyance. Elesis sighed.  
"Yes we are, Add. You really need to learn to cherish sights like these." The hill towered over the Elgang, with tilted towers and buildings in the background. An arc stood over the top, and underneath the arc was where the water seemed to come from.

The silence that hung afterwards was not awkward at all; the calming atmosphere that the Mastermind had broken before was resumed.  
"Well, let's explore a little more." Aisha decided, walking along the path that led around the waterfall. The rest of the Elgang followed, not noticing how slowly they were travelling.  
"Is this place named anything, Chung?" Ara asked the Iron Paladin with curiosity.

"The Fountain of Healing. People would cleanse themselves here before entering the temple. They say that the water can heal you when you're tired." Of course he was familiar with all of this, being a descendent of a family of Guardians in Hamel. He could explore all he liked, as long as he was safe. "The water is safe; it stays pure because of some kind of magic. That was what my father told me, and I believed it. I still think it's true."

"Magic?" The word caught Aisha's attention. "Do you know any specifics?"  
"No." Chung replied, facing the waterfall, watching the blue liquid flow downwards and gathering at the bottom in a pool. It was almost hypnotising; he wanted to look at it and stay there for hours and hours. It had been a while when times were peaceful, and such quite places like this needed to be greatly cherished, especially because the Iron Paladin and his friends were fighters.

"Are we allowed to drink this water? I wish to test it." Eve asked. It seemed to be out of pure curiosity.  
"I'm not sure of the rules, but there really isn't anyone to care around here. You can if you want." Chung answered. "Speaking of that, I'm thirsty." He walked over to the pool of water, about to cup some of the liquid in his hands.

"Allow my servants to get it for you." The Code Empress told the Guardian. "Oberon, Ophelia, fetch me a cup of the water. Wait for me to deem it safe to drink." They still could not let their guard down; the Shadows could have easily contaminated the water. The servants nodded and did their queen's bidding, the requested cup of water arriving in Eve's hands in seconds. She sipped slowly.

"It is safe and pure, just as per Chung's words. Refill everyone's canteens." The servants rushed off again.  
"For now, let's rest and enjoy the atmosphere." Elsword called and walked over to the side of the pool, propping up his sword and sitting on the ledge. Aisha sat next to him, taking out a book as she did. Rena and Raven sat next to each other, not willing to start a quiet conversation.

Eve sat on one of her drones with her servants at her side; they had already finished their orders. Ara, who was usually quite energetic, sat still and looked up at the sky, watching the clouds slowly drift by. Elesis seated herself next to her brother, not wanting to engage in conversation, and drank a little water from her now full canteen. Add sat on his Nasod Dynamo, and a screen and projected touch keyboard appeared. He seemed to be making configurations and adjustments to his weapons, and occasionally a giggle would slip from his lips.

Chung found himself staring into the pool of water, staring at his reflection that was constantly disturbed by ripples. He was really starting to take in his appearance now; the dark tips on his hair had remained in almost the same position, but he had allowed his blonde hair to grow much longer. The Freiturnier had changed in design, and those same, blue eyes stared back at him with the same paw prints on the inside.

A memory began to return to him; the first time he had come to this place, the first time he had looked into the water like this…

_Surprisingly, Chung Seiker had not complained about a trip to the temple, although Helputt thought that the idea would bore his son. The little boy was only up to his father's waist, and he seemed to be a lot calmer than his peers. On the way, they encountered the Fountain of Healing. The ordinary as well as priests were gathered around the small waterfall.  
"Hey, dad, look! It's water! Can I please go swimming?" Chung jumped up and down in excitement; he had never had a chance to swim even though the capital city of Hamel was surrounded by water._

"_We didn't bring your swimmers, and no, otherwise you'll dirty the water." Helputt had to look down since Chung was so short. His son pouted.  
"But I haven't been swimming before!" He obviously did not understand, but he could not blame the child.  
"The water is kept clean and pure by magic." That directed Chung's mind off the idea of getting himself wet. _

"_Magic? Why did you never teach me to learn magic? Then I can clean everything up and beat all the bad guys!" The blonde boy whined, and Helputt knew that soon his son would, in his life, face the true reality of war and violence.  
"You can drink the water if the priests and priestesses let you." The White Colossus replied, almost ignoring his son's complaints. _

"_Okay, let's go! I'm thirsty." Chung was excited again and ran towards the Fountain of Healing, ahead of his father. Helputt simply smiled and ran after his son. The child stopped when he approached a thin crowd, unable to get past.  
"Dad, help me. I can't see the water."  
"What's the magic word?" _

_The future Iron Paladin pouted.  
"Please?"  
"Okay, I'll help." The White Colossus held his son in his arms and was about to make his presence obvious to the public when someone bumped into him.  
"Oh, I'm sorry, Helputt…" _

_It was a woman who bumped into him, and she wore a hood and blue clothing. It only took a moment to recognise her.  
"Water Priestess," Helputt smiled. "It's nice to meet you here."  
"Likewise to you." The Water Priestess smiled back.  
"A child?" The White Colossus noticed a girl, older than Chung, standing beside the Water Priestess. _

"_Yes, she is my daughter." Chung, from his father's arms, eyed the girl with interest. "I decided to name her Sasha. I hope that she will carry my role as Water Priestess when she is old enough."  
"It is an honour to meet you, White Colossus." Sasha performed a curtsy, although her dress was a bit tight. Helputt laughed._

"_Oh no, you can just call me Helputt. And meet my son, Chung." At the mention of his name, the Seiker son waved. Sasha only smiled back.  
"Did you come here to receive blessings and to pray?" The Water Priestess asked the White Colossus."  
"I also came here as a brief visit. Chung here was thirsty. Is he allowed to drink from the Fountain of Healing?" _

"_Of course. The water here is very healthy." Sasha tugged her mother's dress.  
"Can I drink too? I'm thirsty as well."  
"Alright, dear." The Water Priestess politely asked some crowd members to move aside to allow two thirsty children through. Helputt let his son onto the edge of the pool, and Chung stared into the water, curious at his reflection. _

"_Look! My reflection keeps changing!" The White Colossus could only assume that the young Seiker was talking about the distortions that were caused by the ripples of the constantly flowing water.  
"Be careful, Chung, don't fall in!" As if on cue, Chung lost his balance and was about to fall face-first into the water. _

_Luckily Helputt was beside him and caught him before he could get himself wet.  
"Thanks, Dad." Those words made the White Colossus smile. He then watched his son as the young Seiker eagerly drank from the pool, using his hands to scoop up the water. Sasha was drinking in a similar manner; except she looked more elegant.  
"At least Chung still has his manners." The Water Priestess nudged the White Colossus. "You should have seen some other boys who were here._

_Helputt laughed.  
"I think I feel fortunate that Chung is such a good boy, even when he's excited. But, he's still a child." _

_And the future Iron Paladin was too immersed in drinking the water, not knowing that he should be cherishing this moment of being with his father._

Helputt was gone. The demons had taken him away a while ago. Chung could not remember when, but he remembered clearly on what happened that day when he was visiting the temple with his father. _Wow, I really do miss him…_ The Iron Paladin let a tear go, and its impact on the water surface created more ripples, further distorting the reflection.

"Chung, is there something wrong?" He quickly looked up towards the owner of the voice. It was Rena. Even though she had turned colder over the times, she still cared for her friends.  
"I'm fine. Just remembering Helputt…" The Night Watcher immediately understood.  
"I think all of us are recalling memories right now; even I was." The Veteran Commander spoke up. The Iron Paladin looked around at all of his friends. Almost all of them wore an expression of deep thought.

"Well, let's just enjoy the moment now." Rena went back to thinking, and so did Raven. Chung continued to eye his friends, and it did not take long for the Night Watcher to drift off to sleep, leaning on the Veteran Commander. The older brother figure jerked slightly, an action alien for his character, and relaxed when he found the elf resting on his shoulder. The half-Nasod let her lie there.

_They look so cute together; it's hard to believe that they haven't confessed yet._ Chung held back a smirk before looking back into the pool of water. He wondered what his father would say to him now. About his skills, his friends, his height, his hair, his experiences… The Iron Paladin closed his eyes and when he opened them a second later, he swore he saw the reflection of the White Colossus instead of his own.

_Father, trust me, I would never be able to take your title. No matter how skilful I could get, no matter how big I could grow, no matter how good I was at leading. I would never be as good as you. _

And somewhere, in the back of his mind, he remembered his father encouraging him while he trained.

_I dare you to do your best. To become an even greater legend than the White Colossus._

**Skyress8619: That is all for the Fountain of Healing. I decided to centre the chapter on Chung, because this is an area in Hamel. I do have to admit that I am biased when it comes to writing, as I tend to focus on Raven, but it does feel nice to be writing about someone else other than him. **

**Skyress8619: Thank you to those who followed and made a favourite not only to this series, but to me as an author. I feel I do not even deserve it for the lack of writing skill I have, but I will accept it nonetheless. I do write for the enjoyment of it, mainly, but also to improve my writing skills, as I will have to face tasks that involve creative writing. I really do hate writing analytical essays about novels, especially if I do not like them. **

**Skyress8619: Feedback is greatly appreciated, whether it is by PM or a review. Something about this series, or my writing style as a whole, or some mistakes I make, or some issues I have with the personalities of the characters I write. I will accept them. So, I already feel guilty making a request because I am being hypocritical, but please review. As you all know, it helps the authors here improve. **

**Skyress8619: If there are any opinions about any of the soundtracks I have written for so far or are in progress, then I will accept them as well. And… that is all I have to say for now. **

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	7. Henir's Time and Space Rest Stage

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**Skyress8619: Greetings, and welcome to yet another chapter of the Soundtrack Collaboration, featuring the rest stages of Henir's Time and Space. **

**Elsword: Why that? There's nothing much to say, anyway. **

**Skyress8619: It's there, Elsword, and that is what matters. Anyway, I deeply apologise for the lack of writing on my part. This was due to the holidays, which meant levelling up as fast as I can on my Blade Master, and then I decided to start on the Ace Attorney series. Two games, I feel, is almost too much work for me. **

**Skyress8619: Anyway, let's get started. **

**Classes:  
Elsword: Rune Slayer  
Aisha: Dimension Witch  
Rena: Night Watcher  
Raven: Veteran Commander**

(line break)

All four of them made a huge sigh of relief when they were teleported to a rest stage.  
"Ran is hard enough by himself, but two?! The fact that he always seems to shrug off our attacks is really annoying." Elsword complained, almost falling to the ground in an attempt to regain some energy.  
"He just doesn't show that he's taking damage, Elsword. But he actually is." Rena spoke up, also sitting down to rest.

Aisha began to meditate to restore her mana reserves; a lot of it had been used attempting to either rip Ran into pieces or slowing him down so that her teammates could dodge his attacks. But Raven was the weakest; the overheat damage was stacking up and he narrowly avoided death. He practically collapsed, still out of breath and not really wanting to go any further.

The floating cubes in the distance began to spin and glow, and the Elgang felt their energy restored… by only a little. The Rune Slayer complained again ("How the El are we going to continue?!"), and the Dimension Witch resisted the urge to hit the red-head with her staff. The Night Watcher silently rose, and the Veteran Commander attempted to get up. His body threatened to buckle again, and he had to use his blade to keep himself from falling again.

"Are you alright, Raven? We can handle the next few bosses by ourselves, and you can stay in the background and rest." Rena suggested. Her reply was the shake of the head.  
"I'm fine. I just have to be more careful not to take hits." Raven replied, before walking forward by himself to prove that he really was alright. The Veteran Commander almost collapsed forward again, only to be caught by the Night Watcher.

"Seriously. Let us handle the next few bosses. We came here to finish this and to train ourselves, and it's important that you don't push yourself too hard, Raven." Rena knew the man well. He would always do his best to protect his friends, even if it meant sacrificing himself.  
"I'll try and support from a distance, then."

There was no arguing to that. If the Veteran Commander wanted to help fight, the only thing that would stop him was either his physical condition, or death.  
"Aisha, are you done?" The Night Watcher turned to the Dimension Witch.  
"Just finished charging up." Two auras burst out from her, increasing the magical power and the speed of those around her.

"Thanks, Aisha." Elsword finally stood up, looking more energetic than before.  
"Everyone ready?" Rena called. Her friends answered her with a nod, and with that, she dashed forward, making a clean slice at the panel of squares labelled "Continue". The squares shattered, and the small light that was behind it grew larger and larger, eventually enveloping the Elgang and into their next zone: Sander.

Finally, there was something to entertain him. No one had gotten this far before, and this was really catching his attention.

He remembered watching those humans two years ago, thinking that opening the gates for them would be fun. He regretted that instantly, seeing how pathetic they were. The inexperience, the weakness and… they were so pathetic that it almost infuriated him. He wanted to go to them, and show them that the toughest thing they would ever face was not fighting two ice demons at the same time.

He juggled the cubes in his hand. Dice, cubes, they were all the same thing. It was one of the very little things that he possessed; one thing that proved his power and his authority. He had cast away his much weaker self a long time ago, and acquired the chains, the mask, and the cubes. Actually, it was those three things that proved the power and authority that he possessed.

That magical girl's own powers were trivial compared to his own. She could not reverse fatal damage, it took so much energy for her to tear something apart, she didn't kill with a flick of the wrist. Even with the staff that she had, she could not match him in any way. _And I wonder why she even decided to wear those clothes… it amuses me that some girl who looks and acts girly can even fight the demons._

That reminded him of the current problem in his hands. The rip between dimensions was an opening for the demons to come into his domain, and now it was irritating him more than entertaining. At least that gave those four humans something to train on.

_Kukuku… _He could see everything in his domain, including the fight that those four humans were involved in. _Actually, the title of "humans" is a bit repetitive now. Their names…? Luckily I had been listening intently to all of their conversations here._ Raven had taken shelter behind a slab of rock stuck into the ground; that massive trock with the huge sword had tossed it up.

Starballs and dimensional magic was flying everywhere, runes were also flying everywhere, and the elf had planted traps. The sheer numbers were wearing down the boss slowly. _What was that thing's name? Waldo?_ Raven was launching explosive ammunition, flaming crows, napalm grenades and fire from behind the rock. _It'll give in soon enough; let's see how he handles that._

At first Glave thought that today was just another boring day, before those persistent four entered Henir's Time and Space. _Now let's pay close attention to see if they get through the entire thing… of course I have prepared rewards to try and get rid of my boredom…_

(line break)

**Skyress8619: It took me around an hour to write this, and it is relatively short. It may be a while before the next update. **

**Skyress8619: Thank you readers very much for the support you have all given me. Even if was the occasional favourite or follow that I receive in my inbox, everything counts. Please review to tell me of your opinion on my works. I still cannot believe that my one-shots for Valentines and White Day are still being read, but I can assume that it is a bit of a good sign. **

**Skyress8619: And that is… about all I have to say. **

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	8. Ruben Village

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**Skyress8619: Greetings, readers. This chapter will focus on Ruben Village, where the El Search Party was founded by Lowe, and where the Tree of El is located. The music and the atmosphere, I think, is peaceful and nostalgic. It is the starting town of the game, even though only three members of the Elgang start here. I still enjoy occasionally going back and remembering my now capped, PvE and end-game-geared Veteran Commander when he was once a base Raven in his base promotional costume. **

**Skyress8619: My sister would rant about base Raven being ugly just because he was shirtless. Anyway, on to the chapter. **

**Classes  
Elsword: Infinity Sword  
Aisha: Elemental Master  
Rena: Night Watcher  
Raven: Veteran Commander  
Eve: Code Empress  
Chung: Iron Paladin  
Ara: Sakra Devanam  
Elesis: Grand Master  
Add: Lunatic Psyker **

* * *

_It's good to see that everything here is still peaceful._ The only sounds that Raven could hear were the chirping of birds and the soft sound of the water from a river that ran through the village. Elesis seemed to be thinking the same thing, and Elsword showed a soft smile that the Elgang hadn't seen for a long time. It was always that cocky smile that he wore before he went to battle, and they always thought that the more tender side of him had been completely taken over by his brash and bold personality.

"Wow, it really is a nice place here. It's rarely noisy, is it?" Chung commented.  
_I have to agree with the Guardian, Elsword. Too bad we couldn't come back here too often because of the demons._ Conwell spoke in the Infinity Sword's mind.  
"…" The red-head stayed quiet, and everyone surveyed their surroundings, taking in the serenity of the place.

"Ah! Welcome back. Elsword, I see you have brought even more friends with you." The chief of the village, Hagus, approached. He had seen Raven and Eve before, though. "My, how you have all grown. And Elesis, it is an honour to see such a high ranked member of the Red Knights. Thank you for taking your time to visit." Even though the Grand Master was the Infinity Sword's older sister, Hagus still wanted to show respect.

"It's fine, Hagus." Elesis smiled. "There's no need to be so formal. I really have almost nothing to do now that the demons have gone. For now." They had just saved Sander from Karis and Behemoth, and had received no further notice from any other towns. "And any issues concerning the Red Knights are not urgent, unless the demons come back to attack."

"Elsword, do you mind reintroducing all of your new friends? They've all grown so much, and we have never had time for a formal introduction." Hagus suggested and Elsword grew a little more lively.  
"This is Aisha, now Elemental Master." He gestured towards the purple-haired mage, who smiled.

"Where have I heard that name before…" The chief rubbed his chin. "Wait… you're… you were one of the most powerful magicians in Elrios by the age of 12!"  
"Until I lost my powers due to a ring I put on." Aisha continued him. "My teacher learned that the El had something to do with my loss of powers, so I came here, only to meet Elsword."

The Elemental Master was tempted to call him "Elbrat", but she refrained.  
"This is Rena. She came from the elven village nearby, and she needed to find out what was wrong with the El, since its power was weakening." The Infinity Sword gestured to the Night Watcher, who nodded. Not a single emotion was displayed on her expression, and Hagus found it unreadable.

"She joined an elven assassin guild known as the Night Savers, and she is now the highest rank, the Night Watcher." Elsword continued.  
"Ah, the Night Savers." The Ruben Village chief nodded. "They have been extremely successful in their missions, and are known to be fierce and fearful fighters."  
"Thank you for your compliment to my guild." Rena replied.

"This is Raven, now a Veteran Commander."  
"Veteran?"  
"I was once the captain of the Crow Mercenaries, even though I was a commoner of Velder." The raven-haired man began to explain.

"I see. Something tragic must have happened, which is how you got your arm?"  
"That's true. I now continue to wear the uniform to fight for my fallen comrades…" _And for his fiancée, who was killed in that same fight several years ago._ Rena continued in her mind, and she had no idea why. "  
"Ah. I'm sorry."

"No, there is no need to apologise. It's all in the past. I have made sure that I don't make the same mistakes again." Raven continued. _And you caused us much worry when you recklessly get in the way and end up getting hurt instead. _Rena thought again.  
"Anyway," Elsword continued. "This is Eve, Queen of the Nasods, and Code Empress."

The Nasod stayed silent.  
"Ah. I have never seen a Nasod in my life. It is a pleasure to meet you." Hagus bowed.  
"It's fine. I will do my best to assist the human race and my friends while I am here, since I have yet to rebuild my own race. I feel that this period is the calm before the storm, and I know that I am needed in combat."

"And… those two are your servants?" Eve knew that Hagus was referring to the masculine and feminine type Nasods standing beside the queen.  
"They are, and I have created them myself. Their names are Oberon and Ophelia, and should you require their assistance while we are here, they are more than willing to help." The two servants bowed, with Oberon silently disagreeing to his queen's words.

"Moving on. This is Chung Seiker, who is from a line of Guardians from Hamel, and Iron Paladin." Elsword gestured towards Chung.  
"Ah! And… your father was the legendary White Colossus?" Hagus remembered.  
"Yes, he was, though he fell under demon control, and we had to get him back. We succeeded in the end."

"That's good to hear. How is it as a Guardian in Hamel?"  
"I do have to train every day, but otherwise, I don't actually have much to do. Sometimes I help out my father, but that's it."  
"And this is Ara Haan, who is from a lineage of warriors in Fahrmann, now a Sakra Devanam." Elsword gestured towards her.

She smiled, though Hagus could note that it looked more shy than happy.  
"Fahrmann… I've only heard little about it. The only thing I know that it is in the Northern Fluorine continent."  
"Um… the Haan family protects the seal of the Nine-Tailed-Fox."  
"Again, I have only heard little about it, but I have heard that it is a spirit also. Is this true?"

"Actually, the spirit, called Eun, is with me right now. I become more powerful when it possesses me." The Ruben Village Chief was surprised by this, and there was a pause, as if Ara was thinking. "It's eager to meet you." Shortly afterwards, the Sakra Devanam's hair turned white, and nine white tails appeared, as well as red streaks on her face. Her eyes also changed from the usual yellow-orange orbs to red ones.

"So this is the place." Eun-possessed Ara spoke in the same voice, yet it sounded different. "And you are the chief of this village?"  
"I am."  
"Well, there's nothing interesting I wish to discuss. Ara was just overemphasizing her excitement, then."

The Sakra Devanam reverted back to her usual self.  
"Alright. And this person here… his name is Add." Elsword gestured towards the Lunatic Psyker. "He's very skilful in Nasod mechanics."  
"Didn't know this place was so empty. There's not much to see here." Add thought aloud, and everyone knew that it was a rude remark.

Because of this, the Infinity Sword whispered in Hagus' ear.  
"He's insane and mentally unstable because of his past. Don't mind him." The red-head stepped back.  
"Anyway, I am now an Infinity Sword. Meet Conwell, by the way." A rune appeared and Elsword drew the extra blade out.

"Conwell? Is he…"  
"He's the spirit in the sword. Here, hold it, and he'll talk to you." Hagus hesitantly took the sword by the handle.  
"Hello, Chief Hagus. Yes, I am Conwell. I… made a pact with young Elsword here. He wanted to develop his own dual-wielding fighting style." The voice spoke into the chief's head.

"I see." He responded in Hagus' head, and he gave the blade back to the Infinity Sword, and Conwell disappeared. "Well, I have some matters to attend to now. You lot are free to explore this place." He walked away, and entered into a building. There was a silence before Aisha finally spoke up.  
"So, Elsword. Where do you live?"

The words were accompanied by a devilish smile that the Elgang hadn't seen in a while.  
"Why my place? Why do you even want to see where I live?" The Infinity Sword shot back.  
"Because I want to. And besides, why not?"  
"I haven't even prepared it yet! And I wasn't expecting guests, so it might be a complete mess."

"That would be your excuse for a huge mess, Elsword. We can understand that." Raven almost smirked.  
"We came here by your suggestion, and everyone agreed. We should at least be able to have some power in deciding what we want to do." Rena joined in.  
"Hey, not you two! Why are you rooting for Aisha?"

"Curiosity calls." The Veteran Commander answered simply.  
"I want to see your house too, Elsword! I feel guilty for having lived with some money, so I want to at least see what it's like to live here. Besides, it's extremely peaceful, and we could even help your parents or clean up whatever huge mess is in your house! We're friends, right?"

"I need to check on my servants, and the only suitable grounds to do so seems to be your own place, Elsword. Of course, as with Chung's suggestion, we would need to clean up, and my servants would be happy too." Eve's monotonous voice followed the Iron Paladin's. Oberon silently disagreed again.  
"Not you two! Why is everyone rooting against me?"

"The culture between Fahrmann and here is different, and I want to at least see." Ara seemed excited.  
"Stop using Chung's excuse!" Elsword was almost raising his voice.  
"Elsword, we have been gone for a while. We should at least pay a visit." The Grand Master spoke.

"And I need to maintain my Dynamos, too, and why not in your place?"

The Infinity Sword almost yelled in rage, but managed to suppress it.  
"… Fine. Just, follow me."

The village was built on land that had small hills here and there, and a river ran through it. It was also surrounded by forest, making it seem separate to the world. No one in Ruben Village was particularly rich, but everyone seemed to be happy nonetheless. _It really is true. The books describing villages like this really are correct._ Raven did not know why he was thinking back to his childhood, but perhaps this place just reminded him of that time.

"If only the world was like this village, Raven." The Veteran Commander realised that the Night Watcher was talking to him. "The atmosphere is serene, there are enough natural resources for the village to sustain itself for a long time, and most importantly, it is peaceful. Yes, it has been raided once by Banthus, and the El was stolen, but that was it. There is no constant or continuous conflict."

"I wish the world was peaceful, too. It's because of corrupt, foolish and powerful people that the balance tips towards their favours. The commoners are left almost struggling to survive, even if they were in a large, rich capital such as Velder. And then they revolt." And he had known of such a power-hungry person, a person who had even gone so far that he would set up a complex plot to frame him. A person who was ruthless enough to kill him, and torture him along the way.

"And because such an almost secluded village does not require such a close watch of the Night Savers. We watch from the shadows to keep the innocent safe, and this is such a place that does not fight often. The balance, as you call it, is perfect. Yes, it is fragile, but at least it is not constantly tipped one way or the other."

She was right. Raven suddenly wished that he had grown up or at least lived in the place for some time in his life. _They do say that your scars is what makes who you are._ The Veteran Commander had physical scars of his own, eight to be exact, but if he had been here before meeting Elsword, he would never have had the military experience he had now. _Elsword would be living an ordinary life of a swordsman while I would be working away late into the night._

_That was because I wanted to prove that a commoner like me could rise to the higher ranks. And that bastard…_ Now that he thought about it, Raven didn't know whether Alex had ruined his life or not. Sure, his comrades and his fiancée were killed, and he had committed unspeakable crimes while he was under Nasod control. But now, here he was, having joined the Elgang, fought of demons, and saved cities and thousands of lives.

And they were in the very place where the El Search Party was founded. Even though they had already retrieved the El a long time ago, they still stuck together. They were still friends, after all, and the demons had just come when they thought that they could rest. Now they were famous in all of Elrios for their work. Either a life of an Elgang member, or a life of a Crow Mercenary Captain as well as a married man? The possibility of being a father even stood.

Thoughts were crossing quickly in Elsword's mind. He knew Aisha only wanted to come to his house to tease him. Well, where was her place? Now that the Infinity Sword thought about it, he even had no idea where Aisha came from. All he knew was that she was one of the best magicians in the world before some stupid ring took her powers before disappearing. _Well, that was her mistake for not thinking._

Elsword wondered whether the Elemental Master had gotten all of her powers back. She had come to Ruben because apparently the El was a key to retrieving her lost powers, but it didn't look like the finding of the El had done anything to her. It was more like, she gained her powers back just by training and fighting with the rest of the Elgang. _Wait… what if she hasn't gotten all of her powers back?_

The thought of Aisha being even stronger than she was now made him shudder inwardly. _Nothing would be able to stand in our way, that's for sure._ That made him think about himself. He made a pact with Conwell just to invent his own sword-wielding style. But why did he do that in the first place. _Was it just because I wanted to become stronger to get my sister back? Or was I really that bored?_

He had even ended up absorbing the Dark El. He knew it was a huge risk, but he took it anyway. Elsword managed to control it, and now he and Conwell were even more unstoppable.

The Infinity Sword thought about how his friends had grown from their original selves. Rena was the mother of the group. Sure, she had shed her emotions when she became a Night Watcher, but she had grown more powerful nonetheless, being able to wield not only a bow, but a sword. And she was pretty darn good at it. Suddenly, Elsword was nervous. What if he lost to her in a sword fight?

He didn't know why, but he had some hope that her old self was locked in her heart somewhere. At the moment, he didn't have any definite ideas, but he knew that there seemed to be something in between Raven and her, even though she always acted cold now.

Speaking of the Veteran Commander, they had first met him on the Black Crow. He was under Nasod control, and Rena could somehow tell that. Elsword remembered her saying in battle that he wasn't acting normally, and that he was somehow extremely enraged, and maybe even in pain. That theory was finally proven true after they bested Raven in battle, and he was freed from the control device in his Nasod arm.

The Infinity Sword remembered that Rena had almost broken down into tears when he told them everything that had happened in his past. Raven had then decided to continue to fight for his fallen comrades and fiancée, and chose the path of self-sacrifice. He could overheat his arm, which meant more power at a cost to his health. He grew more protective as time passed, and now here he was, standing as the Veteran Commander.

They had encountered the Queen of the Nasods after beating King Nasod and retrieving the El from Altera Core. She had woken up from a hibernation that lasted several years, and according to her experience, she had been extremely lonely for years. Eve also wanted to rebuild her race, and Elsword offered to help. He even offered to help as her friend.

The Infinity Sword knew that he had hit something inside her when he said that, but the Queen of the Nasods had collected herself quickly and thanked him for the help. That was essentially how she joined the Elgang. She then developed her code from there, and then Oberon and Ophelia were created. Eve even bothered with a third servant, Ferdinand, but he rarely came into combat.

Then they finally found Elesis, who had come just in time to help the Elgang against the battle with Dark Nephilim. She had advanced to Grand Master, and she had felt guilty that they were not strong enough to free Velder from the demons. The Velder Garrison eventually freed Velder with the help of the Red Knights, which were originally stationed across in Hamel.

Obviously, as Elsword's older sister, Elesis joined. In that situation, she joined to help the Red Knights get rid of their problem with the demons, which was indirectly saving Velder, but she decided to journey with the Elgang. Making sure the Infinity Sword wasn't doing anything reckless was one job on its own, too.

As they arrived in the outskirts of Hamel, they found Chung, who was weak and injured. He had apparently been beaten back by the demons, and had lost his father to them. Of course, Elsword allowed him to join, and together, they liberated Hamel. It wasn't until later that the White Colossus was finally released from demon control, but the Iron Paladin was still shaken by those events.

He vowed that, as a Guardian, he would protect all of his friends, and that he would be responsible if any one of them forcedly changed sides. He even decided to hold responsibility if anyone died. Raven was playing a similar role, but he obviously couldn't take as much damage. Not only was he already hurting himself by attacking, he also lacked the stamina and the defensive capabilities. _Well, Chung's a Guardian, after all._

It was the moment when Eve was about to get crushed by Victor when Add decided to show his face and crush the towering beast himself. It took some time for Elsword to figure out that the Lunatic Psyker was not only obsessed with Nasod technology, but he was also stalking Eve and the Elgang all the way from Elder.

He fighting skills eventually proved to be useful, and they couldn't shake Add off anyway, so they reluctantly allowed him to join. Eve would often be annoyed by the constant whining from the Lunatic Psyker for her code, and her answer would always be a "no". Elsword didn't know how, but he seemed to have somehow gotten along with the rest of the Elgang; enough for everyone else to tolerate him.

The Infinity Sword remembered the time when he accidently attacked an Eun-possessed Ara, mistaking her for a demon. He had to apologise for that after the misunderstanding was cleared, and she asked what happened to Ran, who was apparently her brother. He had fled, but she stilled asked to join the Elgang, and they accepted her. Nothing hurt to have another friend joining them, and her speed in battle was especially useful.

"Well, here it-" Elsword expected that small cottage that he had lived in for most of his life. Instead, there was a mansion-like building in its place, surprising not only the Infinity Sword, but also the Grand Master.  
_This can't have been some renovation while we were gone. There was no way Mum and Dad could have afforded something like this._

Both red-heads stopped abruptly as thoughts and possibilities swam through their minds.  
"Do you really live in such a big house?" Chung asked.  
"… We didn't." Elsword replied. "Something happened while we were gone. And where are our parents?"  
"Let's go ask Hagus. He should know about this." Elesis suggested.

The Elgang heard laughter behind them, and Hagus appeared at the scene.  
"I'll assume you have many questions to ask." That was not only true for the Infinity Sword and the Grand Master, but also for everyone else.  
"What happened here? Where are our parents? Where did they move? Why is there a massive mansion in the place of our home?"

"Slow down, I'll answer." The Chief of Ruben took a deep breath. "We were completely aware that there was an enormous amount of funds going towards the Elgang."  
"But I thought we refused them all!" Elsword exclaimed.  
"They still deposited in the bank account, anyway. They wanted you to accept it, because that was how thankful they were."

"… Oh. Now I remember." The Infinity Sword replied.  
"And I believe you sent the vast majority of it to Ruben? I received every piece of ED." Hagus smiled at this.  
"I must thank you for being so generous."  
"We can't even spend all that, so why not give?"

The Chief of Ruben nodded.  
"True. These funds were technically yours, so we used it. Now that the demons are gone, and all of you have some time to live peacefully, why not have a place to live peacefully?"  
"Wait… you mean this mansion…"

"We all knew that you were a group of travellers, and that it would be nice to have a place to call home. Here's a message from your parents, Elsword and Elesis." Hagus took out a piece of paper that was concealed behind his back and handed it to the two red-heads.  
"Can you read it out loud?" Chung asked, and Elsword complied.

"'Dear Elsword and Elesis,  
If you are reading this, then we know that you have gotten home safe and sound. All the news has been buzzing with your successes, and we are both proud of you. We have heard that you have more friends as well, who have come from a variety of different parts in Elrios.

I think we can all assume that you are in good terms with your friends, and now that all of you travel around Elrios, none of you have a place where you can all live together, since all of your friends come from many different places. You've saved each other's lives as well as worked together to save Elrios from multiple demon invasions.

We've moved somewhere in the village, and we won't say where (you'll have to find us later), and right in front of you, we built a big house that all nine of you can live in. This was the combined effort of all the villagers here, and why not have a home where it all started? We were also the ones who decided to give you this place as well as take the funds to use. Sorry about that, but you did write letters back saying that you couldn't possibly use all of it."

So, enjoy your first day back here. Don't worry, neither of you will have to do chores for us, but I think quite a bit of help would be appreciated from your friends after you have settled in. You'll probably find us at the creek, but if you really can't, then you can ask the Chief. He'll gladly tell you.  
From Mum and Dad.'"

"That's so sweet of them!" Ara hugged Elsword tightly, almost forcing the air out of him.  
"Ara...! Let me go!" The Infinity Sword struggled, but the Sakra Devanam's grip was strong; a lot stronger than he had anticipated.  
"Ara, stop killing my brother." The Grand Master was obviously close to laughing.  
"Okay." She obediently let go, and Elsword gasped for air.

"So, this place is ours now, right? Come on, we have a place to explore!" Chung excited exclaimed. "Elsword, you're the leader, so you should open the door."

"Alright." The Infinity Sword walked forward and opened the door to the Elgang's new home.

* * *

**Skyress8619: If you have read my other stories, then this will be a bit familiar to you. **

**ViperCrow: Having something like this in game would be nice. **

**Skyress8619: Oh, hello there. The main issue is, I am unable to spend that much more money on you since KOG are most likely to make it an Item Mall purchase, especially since I am still in school and I do not have a part-time job. And I think that you would be quite lonely by yourself. **

**ViperCrow: Alright. I am supporting my brother Blade Master. And… what of Reckless Fist? *anger grows* Have you really abandoned him?**

**Skyress8619: A later update will make him much more powerful than he is now. If you really insist, he will be revived. Of course, after Blade Master receives his end-game armour, though I will be the one making you craft Reckless Fist his magic stones and his equipment. **

**ViperCrow: … Of course I have to bring them up while they can't fend for themselves. Alright, I will go and take a rest before you send me on more Henir Challenge and Secret Dungeon runs. **

**Skyress8619: Rest well. **

**ViperCrow: *leaves***

**Skyress8619: If you are wondering, he is my Veteran Commander with the Abbadon Dragon Knight set, but without the Honour and the Blade. All his details are on my profile. Thank you readers again for all the support you have given me, and please leave a review. And… that is all I have to say. **

**Skyress8619 has logged out. **


	9. Tree of El - Top

**Skyress8619 has logged in. **

**Skyress8619: Hello, readers, and welcome to the next chapter of the Soundtrack Collaboration. **

**Elsword: Yeah, yeah, we get it. **

**Skyress8619: I was actually waiting for someone to complain. The introduction is really only one sentence, anyway. **

**Elsword: … **

**Skyress8619: This chapter is the top of the Tree of El. Storyline-wise, this is the first time you battle Banthus after climbing the Tree of El. Otherwise, this is more commonly known as a PvP battlefield, and I only noticed that this music played at the top of Tree of El when I ran the dungeon again with my Veteran Commander. Let's start. **

**Boss Battle: Tree of El (Banthus, Phoru)**

**Classes:  
Elsword: Base  
Aisha: Base  
Rena: Base**

"Banthus!" Elsword yelled, emerging into the scene. It was a scene that he would have cherished if the stupid thief wasn't there. The El stood in the middle of the circular platform on the tree, and there were several water features. The red-head would have hated fighting in this place, but he had no choice.

The large thief only laughed.  
"Let's see how good you weaklings are." He took out a blade from his back, and it was as big as himself. Aisha noticed that the blade was still mainly concealed by a leather sheathe, which Banthus didn't remove. Maybe the thief only used it as a blunt weapon to avoid accidently taking lives.

Two of his minions jumped out at the Elgang with their clubs ready. Elsword and Aisha managed to dive to the side, and Rena performed a backflip, dodging the attacks before firing three arrows. Her marksmanship didn't fail her, and the smaller thieves were unable to rise again. _Wow, they can't stand much pain, can they?_ The young swordsman remembered the beatings that his sister would give him occasionally.

After landing, Rena stayed her distance and fired arrow after arrow at Banthus. He blocked with the flat of his blade, rendering the projectiles useless. Elsword used to chance to advance, and Aisha ran alongside him, needing another angle to hit the thief with her magic. The mage was thoroughly annoyed that she lost her magical power, and was unable to form anything that pierced through shields.

If the stupid ring hadn't taken her powers, then Banthus would have already been lying there, already defeated and possibly dying if Aisha accidently went too far. _Well, I just have to use what I have now._ The mage swung her staff upwards, forming a wave of fire that travelled towards the thief.

Banthus was not aware that there were opponents other than the elf, and the fire swam around his feet.  
"Hot, hot, hot!" He ran, dodging the arrows and running out of the fire, and finally feeling relieved that his boots nor his pants had caught on fire. However, Elsword was already behind him.

"Mega Slash!" The thief blocked the slash, and the two swords clashed. Banthus was not willing to give up, and neither was Elsword, but the young swordsman was merely buying time for the mage to run up and…

The staff smashed into the side of the thief's head, and he flinched. The young swordsman was able to land a blow with the flat of his sword, but Banthus stubbornly stayed on his feet, not wanting to give up just yet. Rena, having now closed enough distance, chained kick after kick, feeling the satisfaction of beating the thief that had just stolen the El.

The elf finished with a tumbling kick, sending Banthus a short distance away.  
"Aww, he's still standing? Let's beat him up some more!" Aisha swung her staff around, eager to walk up towards the thief and finish him off. Elsword ignored the mage beside him.  
"Even if we keep going, you're never going to beat us! Now give back the El before we force it out of your hands!"

The thief merely laughed, and that laughter just made Aisha want to send him to the pits of hell. Too bad she didn't have the power to do that. Yet.  
"Oh, well, look at the time." He sneered, facing the sky, as if figuring out the position of the sun. "I have an important appointment to make. See you all later!" Banthus gave a whistle before running away.

"Hey! Get back here!" Arrows and fireballs flew after the fleeing thief, but none of them made their mark. Soon, he was out of sight.  
"Damn, that idiot." Elsword stomped a foot angrily on the ground. "Now we need to chase after him to get the El back."

Something roared behind them, and the Elgang turned around suddenly. A white, enraged phoru towered above them, baring its teeth and claws.  
"Wait… that can't be a normal phoru…" Elsword thought aloud. _Banthus! What have you done?!_  
"It's not itself, so we need to calm it down. But…" Rena was obviously against the idea of hurting it.

The phoru charged forward, and Elsword rolled out of the way. Aisha clearly underestimated the speed of the creature, because it was obvious that she would have been unable to dodge.  
"Aisha!" The red-head shoved the mage aside.  
"Hey! What was that-" A white blur rushed right in front of her, and Elsword was slammed on a wall.

All of the air was knocked out of his lungs, and he tried to recover as quickly as possible. As he stood up, the phoru had already blocked every available escape route. Luckily, his sword was still within arm's reach, but it was too late. The white beast raised a claw, about to stab Elsword in the stomach.  
"Elsword!" The cry belonged to Rena, and a tumbling kick knocked the phoru aside.

The red-head could already see the pain in the elf's eyes seeing the creature getting hurt, but she was powering through it.  
"It… looks like we have to weaken it until it can't move, otherwise it'll go on a rampage. Then we can heal it after it's gotten a hold of itself." Rena explained. Elsword and Aisha nodded.

"I'll do my best not to burn it." The Elgang faced the phoru, which had already gotten to its feet and readying a charge attack. This time, Aisha knew better, and all three of them dodged successfully. The white beast was able to slow itself down to avoid colliding with a wall, but it took too long. The mage had already gained distance and was about to start a combo of blows from her staff, but the phoru spun around, using the momentum to power a slash.

Instinctively, Aisha held up her staff to block, but the attack still sent her high into the air. As she landed, she winced in pain before noticing that her hand was bleeding.  
"Aisha, you okay?" Rena called out before dodging another charge attack.  
"I'm fine. My hand didn't get chopped off or anything." _Still, it could have happened. I guess I should feel lucky that it didn't._

Elsword began to dodge claw after claw; if he blocked, he may end up accidently cutting the creature, and the last thing he wanted was to hurt something that wasn't itself. _This has to be related to the El's disappearance. How many phorus are like this?!_ The swordsman parried, and the white phoru flinched. He used this chance to land a kick to its stomach, causing it to reel backwards.

Rena came in from behind with a combo of kicks, and both Aisha and Elsword could see that she was holding back. The elf finished the combo with an upwards kick, and creature was knocked into the air. The swordsman leapt up to meet it and smashed it to the ground with the flat of his sword. The impact caused a dust cloud to rise.  
"Elsword!" Rena screamed at the boy. "You could have killed it!"

Now the red-head found himself scared for the phoru's life. After the dust lifted, it was lying there, unmoving. The elf quickly rushed forward to check if it was okay.  
"Rena! It could be faking it and attack you!" Elsword yelled.  
"I can defend myself, Elsword." She called back, before kneeling and placing a hand on the creature. After a suspenseful moment of silence, the elf stood up.

"It's just not moving, but it's still breathing."  
"Good…" Aisha sighed in relief.  
"Well, there's nothing more we can do here. We have to go back and plan our next move against Banthus. And to bring news that he made it off with the El. Hagus is not going to be happy." Elsword said.

"Alright then, let's go." And the Elgang travelled back down to Ruben Village, with the red-head dreading his upcoming punishment.

* * *

**Tree of El – Top (Arena)**

**Classes:  
Elsword: Infinity Sword  
Aisha: Void Princess  
Rena: Wind Sneaker  
Raven: Blade Master  
Eve: Code Empress  
Chung: Deadly Chaser  
Ara: Sakra Devanam  
Elesis: Grand Master**

"Ah… I remember when we battled Banthus here." Elsword thought aloud. Of course, other than him, only Aisha and Rena recalled the memory.  
"This is a beautiful place. I can't believe that fights still occur up here." Raven spoke up.  
"Well, the only fight that occurred up here was when we fought Banthus and that enraged white phoru." Rena replied.

"Banthus… The name sounds familiar…"  
"He was the one who stole the El from here, then he made it off and gave it to Wally for money. We then managed to confront the idiot at his castle and fought a Nasod that he built. The El somehow fixed it when we beat it up, and he flew away. He fled to Bethma, and of course, we chased him." Rena paused a little to try and remember what happened.

"Then we met him on the Cargo Airship, where we battled for the El. Then you came along, destroyed the Cargo Airship, causing it to crash-land with us on board, and you stole the El before giving it to King Nasod. Then, after freeing you from Nasod control, we beat King Nasod and got the El back, and also awakened Eve." The Wind Sneaker finally finished her story.

The Blade Master faintly remembered watching the Cargo Airship fall out of the sky in flames.  
"I… remember shooting it down and battling with you. Sorry about that."  
"Don't bother." Rena playfully slapped in on the back, causing Raven to flinch slightly. "It's all over, and you're on our side now, and that's important for your health and wellbeing."

"…" The Blade Master didn't know how to respond.  
"Okay, now that we're all actually good at fighting, why don't we have a battle here?" Elsword suggested. "Just for memory's sake."  
"Elsword, no. We're only going to end up destroying this place." Raven protested immediately.  
"But what if the ones fighting don't have the potential to do that? Sure, Aisha and Chung can blow this place up, but you can't destroy it with a blade, right?"

"…" The Blade Master didn't know how to respond to that either.  
"Besides, I haven't watched you fight in a while. I'll probably be thinking about how pathetic you were when we met you on the Black Crow."  
"Why not, Raven? Besides, you need to keep your skill up by training!" Aisha mocked, imitating something that the Blade Master told the Infinity Sword repeatedly.

"I haven't been able to watch you fight, so we can all be critics and help you to improve, right?" Rena's bright voice never ceased to catch Raven's attention the most. Not only did it resemble his deceased fiancée, but she was usually the one keeping the Elgang's spirits up, and that was a role that the Blade Master could never play.  
"… Okay, I'll fight."

"Thanks!" The elf gave the half-Nasod a quick hug, causing him to flinch slightly. "You're just doing it for our sake, you know, but thanks anyway." Raven took a little longer to recover, and in the background, Elsword and Aisha both thought the same, annoyed thought that had been in their minds for a long time. _Can't those two just hurry up and confess? It's so obvious that they like each other._

"I've… never fought you before… Can I? Please?" Ara spoke up, holding her spear in front of her. It was already looking a lot more fearful to the Blade Master, but he instinctively calmed down.  
"Sure, why not? Let's see who wins this battle of speed." Raven faced the Sakra Devanam.

"Bring it on!" Ara stood in a fighting stance, glaring back at the Blade Master, who responded with a smile.  
"Okay, it looks like it's going to be pretty rough…" Elsword stepped backwards, and so did everyone else. Luckily, there was already a large raised area to sit on.  
"So, who do you think will win? I'm pitching for Ara." The Infinity Sword said.

Of course he wanted to see the big brother figure of the Elgang be beaten to pulp by a girl who was not only smaller, but younger.  
"Ara." Aisha seemed to have the same reason as Elsword.  
"Aww, Raven deserves a lot more love, you know." _A lot more love from you._ The Infinity Sword thought with a chuckle at the Wind Sneaker's words. "Cheering for Raven, of course."

"Both of them seem to be equally matched, and the roll of the dice says Ara." Everyone had already gotten used to Eve's monotone voice, and no one had minded anymore. She was a Nasod, after all.  
"Regardless of who wins, this is going to be a fun match to watch. I'll… um… pitch for Raven." Chung grinned; he seemed to love speed battles.

"I was about to say basically what Eve said. I am rooting for Ara as well." Elesis spoke up. Rena pouted, and the Sakra Devanam cheered. Her confidence had obviously increased.  
"Hey, can we make a bet?" Raven thought for a while. _I guess we should be having fun…  
_"… What do you have in mind?"  
"Let's bet that whoever wins can take the loser to whatever place the winner wants!"

_It can't hurt, can it…?  
_"Alright." Ara pumped a fist in the air with her free hand at Raven's reply.  
"Okay, let's go!"  
"You two ready?" Elsword called.  
"Of course." Raven allowed a smirk to surface.

"Ready!" The Sakra Devanam smirked back.  
"And… go!"

They rushed at each other so fast that it was only a blur of orange and white. It was then a flurry of slashes and blocks from both sides as the two engaged in close combat.  
"Wow, I wouldn't be able to go that fast at short range…" the Deadly Chaser commented. Raven suddenly sliced forward, and Ara jumped to avoid the delayed slashes that came her way.

The Blade Master recovered quickly and jumped towards the Sakra Devanam, but she blinked from place to place, forcing the former to block the blows. A final slash knocked Raven towards a wall, and Ara closed distance by dashing in mid-air. Her opponent bounced back, and spear and blade clashed again before they separated.

The half-Nasod pounced forward with his claw, but the ripples in the air and ground that the martial artist made caused Raven to lose speed and to be sucked into the middle of the invisible vortex. A sudden shoulder ram caught the Blade Master off guard, and he reeled backwards from the force, feeling lucky that he had managed to keep his footing. But Ara was nowhere near the end of her assault.

A horizontal slash in the shape of a tiger claw almost caught Raven, but he blocked the blow just in time. The Sakra Devanam easily linked this on to a low brandish, almost tripping the Blade Master over. The fact that he didn't allowed Ara more space to plough her spear forward, causing a raging wave that forced Raven backwards.

She then finished with a powerful tiger claw slash. The half-Nasod blocked with his blade, but the force was enough to knock him into the air. The Sakra Devanam hoped to catch the Blade Master off guard. She took on a stance while a blue cloud enveloped her before she leapt towards her opponent at a speed that made her almost invisible.

Raven's blade glowed blue and extended as he spun at a dizzying speed; he felt lucky that the Wind Sneaker Rena had taught him the secret to keeping his head together during a skill like this. Now Ara's attacks were not only to attack, but to defend, and a single falter would cause her to be sliced in half. Finally, the Sakra Devanam's assault ended, and she was forced to land. The Blade Master slowed to a stop before falling towards his opponent, ready to strike.

The martial artist pushed the half-Nasod off easily, but he quickly regained momentum and began slashing, ensuring that he sped up as time passed. Soon, all of the slashes were releasing small shockwaves, meaning that Ara's blocks had to be even more precise. The Blade Master finished with an upward slice that was enough to send the Sakra Devanam back a short distance.

Her flinch time was enough for Raven to lunge forward in a stabbing attack, which Ara deflected before jumping to avoid the mass of delayed slashes that would have cut her up into tiny pieces. As the Blade Master leapt upwards to meet his opponent, the Sakra Devanam performed a mid-air jump, causing him to completely miss an attack. She then boosted herself downwards, spear forward, at a speed which Raven clearly underestimated.

He parried just in time, and Ara rolled to recover from her spear dive. The half-Nasod used the last of his air time to send a shockwave in a downwards arc, but the martial artist recovered fast enough to dash out of the way. As Raven landed he sent another shockwave forward, causing his opponent boost forward again.

The Blade Master leapt into the air, blade ready to plunge into the ground. The Sakra Devanam was wary, and let him land closer to deal a fast counterattack. But she wasn't wary of the small explosion that the impact caused, nor did she know anything about the chain explosions that carried her all the way to the wall. Ara slammed into the wall, not having recovered fast enough to bounce back.

Raven advanced forward to deal the finishing slash, but she quickly recovered, dashing forward and dealing an overhead blow with the flat of her spear. He blocked, of course, but she obviously wasn't finished. The Sakra Devanam thrust her spear forward, which the Blade Master barely parried, before slamming her palm on him. She landed on his blade, but the force was enough to send him backwards.

And the force was enough to lengthen his recovery time as Ara charged a slash. By the time Raven attempted to dodge, it was too late. He was too close, and she slashed in a circular motion, forcing him to block. The strength of the slash sent him crashing into the ground, dealing a minor injury to his head and causing it to spin for a few seconds.

Usually, the Secret Dragon Art was easy to dodge due to the amount of time it took to charge up, but Raven was down. She plunged the spear into her ground, causing the entire ground to split. The rocks that suddenly rose sent the Blade Master into the air, dazed and almost knocked out.

Ara knew better than to think that the battle was already over. She disappeared in a blue cloud again to deal a finishing blow that her opponent wouldn't be able to counter, but she was clearly wrong. A shockwave came her way, blocking her path and forcing her to cancel the attack. As she landed, the Sakra Devanam was about to summon a gravitation drop, but it was too late.

The Blade Master was suddenly almost in front of her, claw outstretched. Ara blocked with her spear, but didn't suspect it when Raven came back down again from the air, dealing two circular slashes with his claw and blade. Not only was he close to deal damage, but the Sakra Devanam flinched significantly, causing an opening that would easily end the battle.

The half-Nasod sliced through, but found that his blow was blocked. As he turned around, he only had enough time to register the nine white tails and the white hair that Ara had suddenly gained. A powerful blow with the spear sent Raven into the air, and she leapt up towards him. Little did he realise that she had gained a lot more speed, and he couldn't block fast enough.

Another blow with the flat of the spear sent him towards the ground, sending up a cloud of dust. The Sakra Devanam, now possessed by Eun, landed gracefully, still in a stance to prepare for any sudden attacks. Indeed, the Blade Master was still alright, and several shockwaves came at her from the dust cloud. All it took was a backwards leapt to dodge the projectiles.

What Eun never expected was a black, spear like object that rushed at her at an extremely high speed. It parried with the spear, and it simply bounced away, turning into a core with spikes floating beside it. The core zoomed back towards its owner, and Raven emerged from the dust cloud, looking unharmed, and now coated in a constant red aura.

Both rushed at each other even faster than before, engaging in close combat that was almost a blur. Just as the Sakra Devanam was about to knock the Blade Master back with a more powerful strike, he leapt backwards, sending three shockwaves at his opponent in succession.

_Hmph. So easy to dodge._ And suddenly, he was only a close distance away, blade plunged into the ground and gaining a temporary redder aura that surrounded him. Before Eun could thrust forward with the spear, the Blade Master sliced forward, with the former having to block all of the delayed slashes. He quickly turned around, dealing slashes fast enough to create small shockwaves.

All Eun could do was block. _He will never out-speed me._ It found an opportunity as Raven finished his current attack, and blinked in all directions. This forced the Blade Master to retreat, but not fast enough. The final slash caught him off guard, causing him to make an unexpected block, increasing recovery time. A shoulder ram connected with the blocking blade, sending the half-Nasod back even further.

A tiger claw followed by a kick continued to push Raven back, and a raging wave sent him into the wall. Now with nowhere to run, Eun knew that victory was guaranteed. _Taste the defeat, Blade Master._

Unfortunately, and fortunately for Raven, Eun was terribly wrong. He held up a claw and the core's spikes formed a shield, completely negating all the damage of a powerful claw swipe that would have finished him. The Blade Master then dashed away at an invisible speed, allowing himself enough space to fight.

… _Damn that idiot._ The celestial fox thought annoyingly before quickly turning on offensive. A blue cloud, and its opponent was blocking wildly. It then held out both palms, causing a draining sphere to form and hitting Raven with it. The latter flinched significantly as he felt his strength be sapped, before boosting to the side to dodge a spear thrust.

The ground began to ripple, and an invisible force pulled the Blade Master into the middle of it, preventing him from escaping. Eun began to relentlessly attack Raven, speeding up with each strike. It knew that eventually, the half-Nasod would not be able to keep up. _Now victory is mine._

Again, the celestial fox was wrong, as Raven unexpectedly slashed with his claw, causing the Sakra Devanam to flinch and allowing him to gain some distance. Soon, Eun was dodging wildly as the Blade Master sent shockwaves in quick succession, not allowing it to get any closer to him. It was clear that he was weakened, and was playing safe from a distance.

From nowhere, the core lashed out again, and Eun dodged just in time, seeing it miss by centimetres. A white strand of hair that was caught fluttered to the ground. _That slippery eel… I will get him eventually._ Seeing as his opponent was too fast to get with shockwaves, the Blade Master advanced, not wanting to show signs of getting weak or even slowing down.

_I have to stay fast; whoever is fastest will win, after all._ Raven sliced past Eun just as they closed distance, and repeated it again and again. _How is he able to repeat it?! He should have the energy…_ The celestial fox noted that the body it was possessing was slowly weakening; Ara's stamina would soon run out. Another flurry of slashes came from the Blade Master; it was clear that he wasn't giving up just yet.

"Bloody Accel!" Raven suddenly slashed around him, scoring cuts on his opponent's hand and face. He jumped backwards, and Eun noticed the blood on the blade. The red liquid seemed to soak into the weapon; now a red aura appeared around the hilt. _I should be more careful; this is getting dangerous. _Not only was he boosted by that ground explosion, but also from the blood contract and the red aura that surrounded him.

_Ara's not going to get weakened by the blood loss, but at least I hit her. I would have lost if I missed. _Raven could feel the lost strength slowly return as he slashed, giving his opponent no chance to escape or attack. But he never expected Eun's next move; it held up both palms in a shield, and it was too late to stop the slash that the Blade Master was about to land.

The Sakra Devanam counterattacked, and the half-Nasod blocked just in time, but the slash was powerful enough to send him a fair distance back.

_Alright, time to end this._ Both had exactly the same thought in mind.

Raven charged forward as Eun charged energy. Soon, she erupted into massive spear slashes, and the half-Nasod slashed through her, doing so continuously and gaining altitude. Each attack was blocking each other, and the only thing that would decide the victor would be the speed.

A black hole appeared below Raven, but this did not stop the Sakra Devanam's assault. The Blade Master's powerful downward slash that sliced open the black hole occurred the same time his opponent performed a final slam of the spear. Both of the slashes collided. Raven and Ara clashed once more, spear against blade. Whoever fell first would be the slower one, the loser.

A suspenseful gust of wind blew as the two held the clash. It wouldn't be long before one of them fell…

* * *

**Skyress8619: And I think I will leave it up to your imagination as to who wins, and whatever place they go next. Feel free to express your opinions. **

**Elsword: Ara definitely won! **

**Aisha: Actually, let's hope that Ara is still possessed by Eun when she makes the decision as to where she decides to take Raven. I bet she's going to force him into a love hotel with Rena… *smirk***

**Rena: *blushes* Hey!**

**Raven: … **

**Aisha: I bet you're already having dirty thoughts! **

**Raven: Why would I? I don't intend to do anything like that to Rena! Besides, we don't know who won. We could have tied, as far as I know. **

**Skyress8619: I'm not revealing that, though. Anyway, it looks like I won't be doing any works other than this one for a while, since my mind is out of fresh ideas. That's… all I have to say. **

**Skyress8619 has logged out. **


	10. Dark Nephilim

**Skyress8619 has logged in. **

**Skyress8619: Greetings, readers, and welcome to another chapter. **

**Elsword: You haven't updated in, like, months. **

**Rena: You should be a bit more considerate, you know…**

**Eve: I have made an inference according to my statistics of this story; it is not popular at all, obviously in comparison with other ones. **

**Ara: Come on, the readers haven't proved otherwise. Sure, there aren't any reviews yet, but you know that some people don't have the time or just aren't bothered to review, right?**

**Skyress8619: Nonetheless, Eve is correct. **

**Skyress8619: Anyway, I have realised I made huge mistakes in all of my past chapters. Not only have I not done a thorough analysis of the storyline at that point, but also I have not done so for the music itself and the visuals. I also have completely messed up Sakra Devanam's Hyper Active in the previous chapter, since I did not read the skill description properly. Elesis was also supposed to recognise Raven in the Battleship chapter.**

**ViperCrow: You could always put me into some use. I get plenty of time to rest already.**

**Skyress8619: But… time restrictions. I think we've been talking for a bit too long. Now, on topic. Dark Nephilim is the patron god of the dark elves, and is summoned using a reagent that Chloe has. The boss battle… is very annoying. **

**ViperCrow: Especially when I don't have my Hyper Active ready. **

**Skyress8619: True. Now, I'm not exactly sure when Ara comes in. According to Sakra Devanam and Yama Raja, Ara joined at the end of Halls of Water. However, according to Asura, she joins in Feita. If she joins in any earlier than Halls of Water, then she is Asura. Otherwise, I will specify. **

* * *

**Southern Gate: Boss Battle (Dark Nephilim) **

**Classes:  
Elsword: Lord Knight  
Aisha: Elemental Master  
Rena: Night Watcher  
Raven: Veteran Commander  
Eve: Code Battle Seraph  
Elesis: Grand Master (joins in later)**

They needed to get to the top of the Southern Gate; that would be a tremendous advantage against the demons. The Elgang were all running low on energy, but they were all expecting resistance after travelling up a stone staircase. But the only thing that awaited them at the top was a very familiar dark elf.  
"Chloe!" Elsword yelled. The only response was a smirk.

_That can't be good… She has something up her sleeve._ Raven made a mental note to prepare for anything unexpected, and so did Rena. It was then that Chloe began to chant, holding up an object too small to see.  
"Aisha! What's she doing?" Rena immediately asked.  
"I think she's summoning something, but I can't be sure what…"

A purple aura appeared around the dark elf before disappearing. She then jumped away, disappearing into the rest of the shadows. The night was making it almost hard to see; the only reliable source of light was the moon hanging low and red overhead.  
"Don't run away, you coward!" The Lord Knight called, but there was silence.  
"She probably went away to make way for something-"

A roar filled the night air. Something was moving alongside the gate and a pile of rubble. The Elgang immediately put up their guards, and whatever appeared made their eyes go wide.

It was double the height of Raven, covered in scales that reflected the moonlight. There were much more visible purple scales also, marking a line of spikes on its back as well as its legs. It stood on four, each one bearing a claw that could easily tear apart an armoured soldier. Three horns were on its head, each one coloured orange, and as it roared again, a glowing, purple orb was revealed inside its mouth as well as several razor-sharp teeth.

"Dark Nephilim, the patron gods of the dark elves!" Aisha exclaimed. The massive creature towered above the Elgang, ready to either rip them into pieces or crush them beyond recognition.  
"You know this thing?" Elsword turned to the purple-haired mage.  
"It was only mentioned briefly in the books, but-"

Dark Nephilim clearly didn't want any more talk. It raised a massive claw and walked forward, stomping as it did. The Elgang dodged, with Eve flying gracefully in the air, quickly activating Spectrum Mode. She then fired off several homing lasers, with each one hitting the head of the creature. It only roared again and continued to stomp forward.

Raven looked back, and realised that the Elgang were being pushed into a dead end, with no way around Dark Nephilim. Luckily, he eyed several levers along the wall; they had to be traps set up beforehand.  
"There's a trap up ahead, and if it's effective, then we'll deal as much damage as we can. Save your strength!" The Veteran Commander shouted.

Dark Nephilim stomped again, this time using only one claw that sent a series of shockwaves forward.  
"Raven!" A gust of wind blew him backwards, avoiding the shockwaves just in time. He managed to land on his feet without tripping over.  
"Thanks, Aisha."

"You're welcome." The Elemental Master sent forward a magic missile, which circled and hit the head of Dark Nephilim. It only grew more enraged; it slammed both front claws down, creating a wave of hexagonal tiles on the ground. The Elgang was knocked up into the air and the creature opened its mouth, once again revealing the purple orb and firing a purple laser at them.

Eve only flew higher, dodging the attack completely. Raven held back a cry as the laser tore through him, draining most of the energy that he had needed for the battle. Rena used the air to boost herself to the side, also avoiding the attack. Aisha teleported away, and Elsword was grazed by the attack, injuring his right arm. The Lord Knight landed on his feet, clutching his arm, but the Veteran Commander landed on his back, almost unable to get back up.

_Good thing that wasn't my sword arm._ His thoughts were quickly cut short as Dark Nephilim raised its claw, ready to claim its first victim. Eve landed, switched to Amplifier Mode, and fired a small laser at the head of the creature in attempt to distract it. Unfortunately, this was unsuccessful, and the Elgang could only watch as Raven was about to get crushed…

"Raven!" Rena screamed, firing as many traps as she could at Dark Nephilim's head. Just like Eve, it wasn't enough. The claw slammed down, and when it lifted, there wasn't a bloodied corpse of their friend. Raven got up from the side, Nasod arm ignited, and punched the creature at the side of the head. It roared in pain, and while it was distracted, the Veteran Commander sliced with an ignited blade, piercing through the scales and causing a bleeding wound.

Raven barely avoided a claw swipe that came at him next, and he retreated as fast as he could. His feet gave away, he found himself face-down on the ground. _I think I should be relieved that I'm alive rather than the fact that my nose isn't broken…_  
"You okay?" The Veteran Commander rolled over. Elsword had offered a hand.  
"I'll be fine. Just a bit exhausted, that's all."

He was a lot weaker than he wanted to, but there was not much time to think. Dark Nephilim had recovered from the counterattack and raised its head while opening its mouth. The orb glowed, and a shard made of hexagonal tiles appeared, slamming down onto the path. Raven was so close to getting sliced in half that a few strands of his long hair was caught in the attack, cutting them off and disappearing into the breeze.

Aisha had already positioned herself beside the lever of the trap and was charging mana, waiting for the rest of her friends to bait Dark Nephilim over. Eve flew overhead, constantly firing lasers, but it was clear that she was holding back. Rena also planted a few traps in its path to annoy it a bit more. Some napalm fire also did the trick, while Elsword taunted it by closing in occasionally, scoring a few cuts before running away.

Finally, Dark Nephilim was annoyed enough. It roared, and charged at the Elgang with a terrifying speed.

Instinctively, everyone jumped. But Elsword saw Aisha calmly positioned at the lever, right in the middle of the creature's path…  
"Aisha!" He screamed. The Elemental Master only grinned before pulling on the lever. It was a lot heavier than she had initially thought, but it was enough. A wall quickly sprang up, and Dark Nephilim, unable to stop itself fast enough, collided into it.

The force was enough to break the wall down, but it was also enough to weaken it. It collapsed with its mouth wide open, the purple orb glowing and surrounded with some kind of aura. It was probably regaining energy from colliding. Aisha sent a magic missile, destroying the demonic cannons that were hidden on the wall that were aimed at the Elgang.

"Attack!" The Elemental Master sent a chain of lightning before following up with a shower of ice. Then there was a bombardment of as much ice, fire and lightning that she could throw, consuming all the charged-up mana as fast as she could. As Elsword landed, he got up close, slashing the orb as fast as he could. It was obviously solid, and it didn't look like it was giving in easily.

A shockwave of wind formed, dealing damage, followed up by a sphere of wind, which exploded on contact with the purple orb. A barrage of traps followed as well as rapid slashes from Erendil. Raven aimed his Nasod arm, firing off as many fire bullets and explosive ammunition that he could handle, his claw on fire the whole time. Eve was doing similarly to the Veteran Commander; the Code Battle Seraph was firing an almost continuous stream of lasers.

Suddenly, Dark Nephilim rose, slamming its claw down and sending a shockwave. Elsword was knocked into the night sky, Aisha managed to teleport just in time, Rena dashed to the side to dodge and Raven and Eve were already in a safe distance. At first, it looked like the Lord Knight was sailing off the side of the Southern Gate, and would therefore fall to his death.

The Elemental Master tried something risky. She quickly teleported to Elsword's side.  
"Aisha, don't-" She teleported back, making it to the ground safely.  
"Managed to save your life there." Aisha smirked.  
"Thanks for that."  
"I'll go forward again with the next trap to charge more mana. You all have to bait that thing towards the trap."

The Lord Knight nodded, and the Elemental Master teleported away. Meanwhile, Dark Nephilim didn't show any signs of weakening nor slowing down. The Elgang had to deal with its constant assault of claw swipes. Again, the creature created a wave of hexagonal tiles, and this time, the Veteran Commander knew better. Instead, he jumped into the air, completely avoiding the wave as well as the laser following it.

With the blade ignited, he sailed downwards towards Dark Nephilim's head. _If I can get in this stab, the creature should be dead._ It was when his blade made contact that he realised that he had done the completely the wrong thing. It felt like stabbing a sword into steel, and all it took was a shake of the head to throw Raven off. The creature fired a laser at Raven, who twisted to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack.

A few more strands of hair flew off into the night sky, but there was no time to worry about his image. The ground was a lot further off than he thought, and he used the chance to rain explosives on Dark Nephilim. As expected, the damage was minimal. _Its scales are so tough… are we only able to deal damage while its collapsed?_

The second trap was approaching, with Aisha standing beside it, carefully watching and ready to activate the trap. Any hidden demonic cannons had been destroyed, thanks to her. _That saves as quite a bit of trouble._ Rena tried to aim traps and arrows at the orb in Dark Nephilim's mouth, but it was too closed to get through; the scales soaked up all the damage.

Finally, it took its head backwards, ready to slam its horns into any unlucky targets. The Elgang dodged backwards with Aisha pulling the lever. Its head drove hard into the wall that sprang up, and again, Dark Nephilim collapsed along with the wall. The rubble fell off the sides into the abyss below. _It's a pretty far fall… if we get knocked off, we'd be falling to our deaths._

Another assault of attacks from the Elgang dealt damage before Dark Nephilim got up again, opening with a laser from its mouth.

_How much damage can that thing take?! _They were all exhausted to the point they had to throw themselves to the ground to dodge the laser; Aisha had also used up all of her mana and did not have enough to teleport. Two more stomps followed; some of them had to roll away to dodge it.

Now Dark Nephilim was attacking relentlessly, not giving the Elgang a chance to recover. Eve's energy was running low, Raven was almost at collapsing point with all the overheat damage stacking up, Rena was exhausted from the amount of running, Aisha had no more mana left and didn't have much physical strength left, and Elsword's injured arm was bleeding; he had gotten dizzy some time ago.

_We have to end it quickly, or-_ There was only one more trap left before the dead end. _Alright. Let's bait it and make it charge into the trap. _Dark Nephilim roared, and sent a shockwave forward.  
"Everyone! Run towards the trap!" Raven yelled. The Elgang obeyed, and it didn't take long to reach the lever. The Veteran Commander and the Night Watcher had left traps and napalm fire on the path, and the Elemental Master sent forward another magic missile.

Finally annoyed, the creature charged. Aisha tried to pull the lever, but she couldn't do it fast enough. Luckily, Elsword quickly rushed over. The trap sprang up just in time, and once again, Dark Nephilim collapsed.  
"It's our final chance; we have to beat it now!" Raven took on a stance, again sending in as many explosives and fire as he could, feeling the overheating weaken his body further.

Eve was rapidly firing lasers, electron balls and electron triangles at the exposed purple orb. Rena used a combination of Erendil slashes and traps, being sure to maximise the damage done by the explosions, the poison and the blade. Aisha threw as much fire, ice and lightning as she could handle without collapsing, and Elsword slashed as fast as he could, absolutely refusing to give up.

To the despair of the Elgang, Dark Nephilim rose once again, slamming the claw on the ground and sending a shockwave forward. None of them had enough energy to dodge; Elsword, Aisha, Rena, Raven and Eve flew backwards. Elsword barely landed on his feet, using his sword to support himself. Aisha tumbled for a bit before landing on her side, struggling to rise.

Rena landed on her feet, using the wind to stop herself from sliding and preparing Erendil; Elsword noted that her legs were shaking. Raven slammed into the wall, forcing all the air out of his lungs before sliding down it, unable to get back up. Eve slowed her descent, but it was obvious that she was close to collapsing. Dark Nephilim stomped towards the weakened Elgang, roaring triumphantly.

_Is that thing really not injured? Ugh, damn it…_ The Veteran Commander tried again to rise, but the intense pain that ran through him forced him back down. _I can't even get back up, the others can barely fight…_ Aisha was charging mana as fast as she could to prepare for a counterattack. Elsword was in stance with his sword. Rena was already prepared, ready to throw a wind orb, another wave of energy or slice with Erendil.

Eve activated Amplifier Mode and began to charge an electron ball, but she could not last long. Dark Nephilim was already close enough, opening its mouth in preparation for a large laser that would obliterate the Elgang.

Seeing the purple orb exposed, Elsword, Aisha, Rena and Eve desperately attacked. The Lord Knight advanced, slashing the orb in a combo. The Elemental Master sent a chain of lightning before throwing ice balls and fire balls. The Night Watcher threw exploding traps, wind spheres and a shockwave of wind. The Code Battle Seraph released the charged up electron ball before bombarding the purple orb with more electron balls, amplified by a red force field.

But it wasn't enough. It was obvious that it wasn't enough to stall it. _Damn it, we can't lose here…!_ Raven lay helplessly. _Is this… the end?_

The Elgang heard another war cry; the voice was obviously that of a female. _Is that someone rescuing us?_ A figure leapt up, and was illuminated by the moonlight. She had flowing, red hair, wearing a dress with black, white, red and a small amount of gold. But what the Elgang centred on was her weapon.

It was a claymore, but the weapon was even bigger than its wielder. The blade of it shone mainly red, with black, white and also a little gold. It was raised above her head, ready to plunge it into the creature. _How does she wield a weapon so big? And it isn't going to pierce the scales of Dark Nephilim!_ Raven yelled in his mind, but no sound came out of his mouth.

The claymore went straight into the creature's body, cancelling out the laser attack and causing it to roar in pain. _What?! My blade couldn't get through its scales…_ She mercilessly pulled it out before jumping in front of Dark Nephilim. It had collapsed with its mouth hanging open, still trying to recover.

The red-haired female swung her claymore upwards, hitting the purple orb. The weapon then rapidly gained a red aura before she slammed it down again with an immense power; a fire effect was created as it cut straight through. She then took out the claymore, putting it into the ground beside her. Dark Nephilim thrashed for a moment before it stopped moving. It was dead.

"Phew, luckily I came on time…" She turned around, and the Elgang recognised her immediately.  
"According to my database…" Eve trailed off.  
"Are you who I think you are?" Rena was also taken back by the sight.  
"You look kinda familiar…" Aisha tried to remember.

Raven's eyes widened. She had met with this knight before when he was the captain of the Crow Mercenaries.  
"… Sis? Is that you?" Elsword had already taken a step towards her.  
"Oh, and before everyone's confused, I am the Grand Master Elesis, also known as the Red Haired Knight. Nice to meet-"

It was at that moment when Elsword and Elesis' eyes met for the first time in a very long time.

* * *

**Skyress8619: I could have easily written more about the reunion, but the main focus of this chapter is the boss battle of Dark Nephilim. Reminds me of the first time I fought this boss, which was in Henir's Time and Space before the Henir revamp. **

**ViperCrow: … You noob. **

**Skyress8619: Firstly, I was new. Secondly, that was on my Void Princess, whom I couldn't play properly. **

**Skyress8619: Anyway, please review. I would really appreciate leaving some comments, even if it's just a sentence saying that you liked it, though I would prefer a more thorough analysis. Constructive criticism is encouraged, as usual. Now that I think of it, I think I should have a bit more reader interaction. An author who writes a beautiful story in the Ace Attorney series usually puts a question at the end of her chapters, and I think I should get some opinions, too. **

**The video for the cutscene after Dark Nephilim is defeated has been added into Elsword KR. Classes in it are LK, SD, RF and EM, as well as GrM. Do you perceive these classes as canonical or not? If so, then what do you think about Raven being Reckless Fist, since that class choice technically means that he is destined to go insane and die? **

**Skyress8619: And… that's all I have to say. **

**Skyress8619 has logged out. **


	11. Port Lurensia

**Greetings, readers. My deepest apologies for leaving this work to die, but I have revived it. **

**Since I did this quite late at night, I was unable to get in the game and check the quests or any sort of story relating to it, so my apologies for any sort of inaccuracy. From what I've seen, though, there is a dock, a lot of elves and demons running about, and... the sheer expanse of this map is something that seems to complement the music (or I could just be exaggerating; my memory is horrible). So... enjoy.**

**Classes:  
Elsword: Lord Knight  
Aisha: Elemental Master  
Rena: Night Watcher  
Raven: Veteran Commander  
Eve: Code Battle Seraph  
Elesis: Grand Master**

**(insert line break here)**

The Elgang could see the dock, where a battleship lay that would take them to Hamel. Everyone was in low spirits; they were not strong enough to be able to save Velder from the demon invasion, which grew worse and worse with each passing day. Even though the citizens had been evacuated safely, and the remaining Velder Garrison had been regrouped, it was still not a happy ending. Raven had really hated to admit that he could not save his hometown, but he knew that there was no point fighting a battle that he couldn't win.

Vanessa had sent them to deliver a message to the Red Knights stationed in Hamel asking for assistance against the demons, because none of the scouts she sent ever came back; she hadn't even heard any news from them. Everyone could see why when they observed Port Lurensia from a high viewpoint; there were glitter demons and dark elves everywhere, and it would have been hard for a single person to have fought their way to the ship, especially when they were not armed properly. Even if they made it to the ship, that was not guaranteed safety; the dark elves still could use their bows, or they could even jump on and continue killing the crew as well as the scout. Their enemies really were fierce, and so far, the Elgang were the only ones who could deal sizable amounts of damage to their numbers, as proven by being able to break through the demon's full defence at the Southern Gate.

"Alright, guys. Let's get going. We've wasted enough time." Elsword finally announced. His sister had let her take charge, and really, they had not been resting long after coming all the way from the Clock Tower Square. Everyone, including the redheaded male, would have liked more rest, but he clearly was in no mood to argue. They all needed to stick together if they wanted to get their job done as efficiently as possible, and creating conflict only served to weaken their ties, which would mean decreased combined strength, which could possibly mean Elrios falling to the hands of the demons. Aisha stood up after a moment, having charged every bit of mana she could get. Rena rose gracefully to her feet, and Raven's observations told him that she was not at full strength. Raven got up as well, not feeling that much refreshed either after spacing out. Eve stood, Moby returning to his original size, and not expressing any sort of opinion on the matter. Elesis got up with a small groan, taking her claymore that had been resting by a statue.

The Lord Knight led the group as they dashed forward, taking out everything in their way. The numbers were not as large, and there was definitely nothing that they couldn't handle, but all of the fighting took enough effort for it to be slightly tedious. Still, everyone put in their all; getting to the ship faster meant getting more rest faster, and hopefully, getting away from the ominous swirl of lightning and purple and red would brighten up their moods. It had been a while since they had ever seen a full sky of blue, and Hamel would definitely have that to offer, even though they really shouldn't be thinking about the scenery while there were blades and arrows and weapons flying.

Quickly, the Elgang had descended downwards, and Eve's lasers with an amplifying force field tore through any demon that did not have a shield. Rena used her agility to get behind the Glitter Pansers without even giving them a chance to turn around, stabbing Erendil into their shielded bodies before Raven followed with a blade engulfed in flame. Elesis, using the weight of her claymore and her strength, was able to crush the demons with the objects that were designed to protect them, sending black blood splattering on the ground around her. She was used to her shoes being dirtied, and it wasn't hard to clean them, anyway. Eve's induction lasers were able to take out any of the dark elves or glitter archers who attempted to snipe them, and Elsword's close combat always proved superior to that of the weapon wielding demons.

When they finally reached the ship, it was a good thing the crew members were not so cheerful at first; it was as if they could sense an aura of sadness emitted from the Elgang. Even though everyone said that it wasn't their fault that they failed to save Velder, they still felt the weight on their shoulders, and it was heavy enough already at the start. Before boarding the ship, Raven turned to look at the capital that he had once called home. There were so many memories that he held dear… including _her_. He felt his chest tighten at the thought of having to leave it all behind, but really, he had to. There was nothing about it he could do now, and while he hated his weakness, he knew that there were opportunities to get stronger.

_I promise, I will return, whether it be with the Elgang, or alone. _


End file.
